To Boost Pilot Retention, Look to the Air Force

In December 2023, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Charles Q. Brown arrived on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) for a demonstration of aircraft carrier operational capabilities. After taking high-level briefs, watching catapult launches, and experiencing a catapult launch and arrested landing in the back of an F/A-18F Super Hornet, he returned to Naval Air Station North Island. He then piloted his Gulfstream 5 to his next destination.

Unlike any aviation flag officer in the Navy, General Brown pilots his own transportation to scheduled engagements and maintains an active qualification in the F-16. In this way, the Air Force projects flying as a priority throughout an aviator’s career. The Navy should, too.

Naval aviation faces a retention crisis at the commander paygrade, as junior and midgrade pilots exit the Navy for other opportunities. Pilots now reaching the end of their initial contracts are the first cohort to participate in the Blended Retirement System, which lessens the incentive to complete 20 years of service to receive a retirement check. Against insatiable airline hiring and lucrative commercial jobs, bonus programs are losing their effectiveness.

While a lieutenant commander evaluating separating from the Navy is unlikely to be swayed by the prospect of flying as a flag officer, a policy that keeps midcareer officers flying could help retention. The Navy should facilitate flying whenever possible throughout an aviator’s career, regardless of seniority or job assignment outside a squadron. One option would be to provide fleet replacement squadron (FRS) refresher training to aviators in billets adjacent to flying squadrons that operate the pilot’s primary aircraft and could offer periodic flying opportunities.

Senior naval aviators as active pilots would benefit operational flying squadrons not only as a supplement during routine operations, but also as a “war reserve” should the need arise. Particularly in the F/A-18 community, senior “guest” pilots could partially alleviate manning concerns. They could fill airborne refueling or surface search coordination (SSC) missions, which are less tactically intensive but can strain a squadron’s capacity when the number of daily sorties exceeds available pilots.

Unless naval aviators maintain flying currency in their primary aircraft by good fortune in assignment and career timing, the Navy does not normally requalify them through the FRS unless the billet is coded for flying duty, even if proximity to a flying squadron offers the opportunity to fly. For example, as a member of the Operations or Air Department on board an aircraft carrier, a pilot could fly with the embarked carrier air wing. But because the billet is coded as nonflying, the opportunity normally is entertained only if the pilot is already current in his or her primary aircraft.

An officer in a nonflying billet can route a request to fly through his or her immediate boss, followed by Commander, Naval Air Forces. A positive endorsement enables Navy Personnel Command to fund an FRS refresher syllabus. However, this places the onus on the individual and increases the likelihood of differing rationales and outcomes based on the personalities involved or the current fiscal environment. The Navy could solve this by enacting a clear, evenhanded policy.

There is an administrative mechanism to achieve this. Navy Personnel Command can recode appropriate billets to “Code 2” operational flying, also known as proficiency flying duty (PFD). In other words, the assigned billet can be classified as PFD even if it is not in a unit that possesses aircraft. This categorization allows for “crew member flight duties which vary from complete aircraft/weapons system utilization to those less demanding in airborne duties and frequency of flight” (e.g., airborne refueling, SSC, etc.).¹ Billets proximate to flying opportunities, but not directly attached to flying units, are prime candidates for PFD classification.

With the lifetime training investment for a naval aviator in the millions of dollars, any step that could aid retention is worth considering. Air Force pilots, if they desire, can fly for the full span of their careers. The Navy should give its pilots that opportunity.