Opening Remarks of Chairman Coffman

SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY PERSONNEL

Washington, DC, March 29, 2017
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Subcommittee's hearing titled "Military Pilot Shortage." For testimony and to watch the hearing click here.

Today, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Subcommittee's hearing titled "Military Pilot Shortage."

"I want to welcome everyone to the Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing on the shortage of pilots in the military services. Today we will hear from the services on their progress toward increasing the retention of military pilots, both officers and warrant officers. We know that pilot demand is increasing in the commercial sector and the demand to hire qualified military pilots is higher than the available pool of candidates. This demand has led to a shortage of pilots across the Services with the problem being particularly acute in the Air Force, with the deficit at this point of over 1,000 total pilots. This trend cannot continue and we are here today to hear from the Armed Services on their plans to stem the exit of pilots from the military. We know we cannot buy our way out of this problem since the military cannot compete with the potential salaries—and in some cases the lifestyle—of the commercial airlines. So we must make sure the Services are using all the levers in their control—from an increase in bonuses to changes in the assignment system to changes in promotions—to incentivize these pilots to remain in service.

The Military Personnel Subcommittee will take every opportunity to thoroughly review and discuss the way forward to stop the outflow of military pilots.

I look forward to hearing from the witnesses to understand the scope of the pilot retention problem and to assess the proposed resolutions for the Services in increasing retention.

Let me welcome our panel:

Lieutenant General Mark A. Brilakis
Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs
United States Marine Corps

Vice Admiral Robert P. Burke
Chief of Naval Personnel

Lieutenant General Gina M. Grosso
Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel Services
United States Air Force

Major General Erik C. Peterson, USA
Director, Army Aviation"