U.S. Air Force 'doesn't have enough pilots to man its drone fleet for raids on ISIS' - and crews are allegedly so overworked that they're quitting in droves


  • Memo from Air Force general says too few pilots can fly drone missions
  • USAF pilot school reportedly half full, current flight crews overstretched
  • General Herbert Carlisle told Pentagon it has crossed 'red line' staff levels
  • Air Force is supposed to have 10 pilots per four drones - is running on 8
  • Overall implies a shortfall of around 130 pilots across 65 missions per day 
  • Experienced pilots said to be leaving because they are so overworked 

The U.S. Air Force is reportedly so low on pilots that it is running its drone raids against ISIS on emergency staffing levels while hundreds quit from being overworked.
According to an internal memo from a top general, the extra strain on the military's fleet of Predator and Reaper drones has pushed the air force beyond 'red line' staffing levels thanks to Pentagon demands for more raids on ISIS.
This in turn has caused fleet commanders to scoop up green recruits from flight school, which is now working at half capacity, according to a report in the Daily Beast.
'Not enough pilots': The Air Force is reportedly creaking under demands for more raids by drone aircraft, such as the MQ-9 Repaer pictured above in Iraq
'Not enough pilots': The Air Force is reportedly creaking under demands for more raids by drone aircraft, such as the MQ-9 Repaer pictured above in Iraq
Fight against ISIS: The increased demands are a consequences of the United States's air campaign against militants in the Middle East. Pictured is an explosion caused by air raids in Kobani, on the Turkey-Syria border
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Fight against ISIS: The increased demands are a consequences of the United States's air campaign against militants in the Middle East. Pictured is an explosion caused by air raids in Kobani, on the Turkey-Syria border
Flight school: Training programs to teach cadets, like those shown here, the knowledge needed to fly drone raids are reportedly running at just half capacity
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Flight school: Training programs to teach cadets, like those shown here, the knowledge needed to fly drone raids are reportedly running at just half capacity
According to the Beast, the drought at the bottom comes as more experienced drone pilots quit due to the demands of flying constant raids against the enemies of the United States.
Pilots have reportedly had leave canceled and been forced to miss training courses which would normally lead to promotions in order paper over the cracks in the low staffing levels.
The situation was revealed in a message reportedly from General Herbert J Carlisle, the head of Air Combat Command (ACC).
'Extremely concerned': The memo reportedly came from General Herbert J Carlisle, the head of Air Combat Command
'Extremely concerned': The memo reportedly came from General Herbert J Carlisle, the head of Air Combat Command
The message, to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, says Carlisle is 'extremely concerned' by problems in the drone fleet, especially in light of Pentagon requests for even more operations.
He said that the air force is expected to field 260 drones every day in 65 CAPs (Combat Air Patrols) of four planes each.
The Air Force is supposed to have 10 pilots for each CAP, who would fly the craft, operate weapons and also gather and monitor intelligence - 650 overall.
The message explained that in emergencies they can get by with 553 pilots per day (8.5 per CAP) - but in reality they are running on no more than 520 pilots - a gap of 130.
He wrote: 'ACC squadrons are currently executing steady-state, day-to-day operations (65 CAPs) at less than an 8:1 crew-to-CAP ratio.
'This directly violates our red line for RPA [remotely piloted aircraft] manning and combat operations'.
The memo also dealt with the wider consequences of the extra pressure, which has reportedly cleaned out flight schools (Formal Training Units, or FTUs) and led to staff leaving.
It said: 'Long-term effects of this continued OPSTEMPO [pace of operations] are manifested in declining retention among MQ-1/9 [drone] pilots, FTU [flight school] manning at less than 50 per cent, and enterprise-wide pilot manning hovering at about 84 per cent.' 
An unnamed official told the Beast: 'It’s at the breaking point, and has been for a long time. What’s different now is that the band-aid fixes are no longer working.'
DailyMail.com has contacted the Department of Defense for comment. 
'Retention problem': The memo says that more experienced pilots are leaving the force too. Above is an image of a drone taken from Turkey during the raids on Kobani
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'Retention problem': The memo says that more experienced pilots are leaving the force too. Above is an image of a drone taken from Turkey during the raids on Kobani


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2897519/U-S-Air-Force-doesn-t-pilots-man-drone-fleet-raids-ISIS-crews-allegedly-overworked-quitting-droves.html#ixzz3O0Z2XPfL
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