The United States wants to revive its activities in afghanistan, and President Donald Trump wants at least 1000 retired pilots of the USAF to be recalled because there is a shortage of pilots. The president has signed an executive order to that effect by which willing pilots can rejoin active duties.
Till now, the provision of recall existed for only 25 retired pilots, but it has now been modified to 1000 to take care of the critical shortage of experienced pilots. The Trump administration is keen to address this shortage to beef up its involvement in Afghanistan as a strategy designed to counter the threats of the Taliban and terrorists.
Shortage of pilots a major setback
Daily Mail UK reports that shortage of trained pilots is a genuine problem that faces the United States. Pentagon spokesman, Navy Commander Gary Ross, has admitted that this could have an adverse effect on not only the government but also on commercial aviation sectors. Secretary of Air Force Heather Wilson quoted figures to reveal the situation. It seems at the end of the 2016 fiscal year; the USAF had a shortage of more than 1500 pilots. A sizeable portion was of fighter pilots.
President Donald Trump has unveiled a new strategy of involvement in the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan. He wants to send additional American troops to the country. He also wants to augment the air support extended to the Afghan army.
Apparently, he has specific ideas of interacting with Afghanistan which appear to be at a variance with that of his predecessor.
The Obama administration was in favor of total withdrawal of US troops from the country. It wanted to leave behind a skeleton staff to train the local security setup so that they could tackle terror threats of the Taliban on their own.
However, the Trump administration has different ideas and appears to be in favor of a more intense engagement with Afghanistan.
Incentives for retired pilots
The United States Air Force has modified several of its welfare schemes to attract the retired personnel. The intention is to retain them and not allow private operators to wean them away.
Moreover, there is a need for experienced pilots in other branches of the U.S. military. Hence the executive order is expected to take care of such requirements also.
Defense Secretary James Mattis has been empowered to recall retired aviation officers to mitigate the acute shortage of pilots in the USAF. The current focus is on the strategy of President Donald Trump in the affairs of Afghanistan and the Taliban.
