Taiwan's air force announced yesterday its decision to launch a series of major systematic reforms including the extension of minimum service for pilots from eight to 14 years. The move was made to help combat a growing shortage of fighter pilots.
At the same time the air force plans to widen pilot recruitment channels, said Colonel Shen Chen-yu (
In the future, pilot recruitment will not be restricted to the air force academy alone. Cadets of other services can also become fighter pilots as long as they are physically qualified.
Shen made public the reform measures to be taken by the air force yesterday at an informal press conference of the Ministry of National Defense.
The reforms were announced as solutions to the pilot shortage problem, which a local Chinese-language newspaper recently described as "unsolvable over the next 10 years."
The problem is especially serious when it comes to F-16 fighter wings. The F-16 wing in Chiayi, for instance, was recently reported as having only about 20 pilots to operate 60 F-16s at the base.
The air force declined to confirm the report, but the moves it has taken recently, including yesterday's announcement of reforms, seem to indicate some acknowledgement of the problem.
"Starting from this year, the minimum service term for pilots in the service is to be extended to 14 years from the current eight years," Colonel Shen said.
"We will also seek to recruit pilots from a wider range of sources, including the academies of the three services and a special flight training class offered to civilian college graduates," Shen said.
Although the reforms have yet to be approved by top military leadership and backed with legal rules, the air force looks set to implement them from this year.
In a brochure for the special training class offered to civilian college graduates this year, the air force has already specified the minimum service term for future class graduates as 12 years, rather than the current eight years.
The current eight-year minimum service term scheme is considered by service leaders to be encouraging young pilots to retire early and join civil aviation companies.
An official with a F-16 fighter wing told the Taipei Times that young pilots now seem to be more easily attracted by material comfort than their seniors when they were the same age. The young pilots referred to are ones ranked between captain and major.
"Quite a few young pilots love to show off the sports sedans they have to each other. There is nothing wrong with owning luxury cars. But it shows that today's young pilots are more interested in making money and enjoying material comforts," the official said.
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