Posted on Oct 20, 2020
Why can't rated Air Force officers break gate 1?
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Why would the Air Force rather lose rated officers who want to cross train to the Guard/Reserves/civilian than allow them to do so? The way I see it, if they complete their ADSC they took on in undergraduate flight training, they should be able to cross train. Just doesn't make sense to me for the AF to lose that experience.
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Air Battle Manager
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 3
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Could you explain more of the issue? As a one-time Private Pilot I'm interested in this article.
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Capt (Join to see)
Air Force rated aviators must meet gate 1, 2, and 3 to keep their flight pay. To meet gate 1, an aviator must be in a flying position for 8 out of his first 12 years as an aviator. Aviators also take an ADSC when they complete flight training. It's 6 years for ABMs and 10 for pilots (not sure about navs). The Air Force will make rated officers leave active duty rather than allow them to cross train, even if its to another critically manned career field, because the reg that governs gate months was dictated by Congress thus something like 98% of all aviators must meet gate 1. This makes no sense to me. If an officer completes their ADSC, and thus can just leave the service if they are unhappy, then why would the Air Force not even consider allowing that person to cross train rather than pushing them out of active duty? How is it better for the Air Force and the DoD to lose an officer rather than keep that experience within the service in another career field? I've seen this numerous times with ABMs who want to become TACP officers and even once in the case of an ABM who got through spec ops selection, but could not get his career field manager to release him.
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MAJ Ronnie Reams
Well, my experience with TACPs is dated, like by 55 years, LOL The Os were pilots from Bien Hoa and they would come to BDE Forward for 2 to 3 week stints. They rotated through the Squadron. We had two Captains and a Major. The EM were with us as an assignment. AFAIK, they were still in a flying position.
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If it’s anything like the Navy, there are Congressionally mandated end strength maximums in various fields and paygrades. Not too long ago (maybe still is) the selection boards promoted not only on the basis of end strength but also on career specialty. In aircraft: Fighter vs patrol vs logistic as gross generalizations. What cross decking are you thinking? It’s not all that simple to switch from one specific type to another without a whole other involved lengthy syllabus. When I think of the AF, I conjure up fighters, cargo and helicopters. Ages ago, the Airguard was flying Vodoos while AF was in Phantoms. For ship drivers, if you missed a gate for command there were limited choices and none involved moving to another career field and hopefully one could make twenty when failure to reach 0-5.
The military is brutal when it comes to needs of the service. There is little grace, nor should there be. It’s not whether we have a need, it’s whether the service has a need. And, things today are very fluid. When the need is no longer there, it’s pretty much done. One example is when the VN riverine thing died in the 70s, the guys (O-3 through O-4 and some 5s) who were experts found that the fleet had moved on. Brown Water Bronze and Silver Stars were colorful but didn’t count for much with selection boards. I remember that as an Antisubmarine specialist the whole field changed in the 2+ yrs I was away. Fortunately, I did see a window for a specialty and just made it in time. Otherwise, out at O-3 on 7 even as Regular Navy. Today the flow points are much different, and they will keep fluctuating over time especially with the acceleration of tech. Some see the days of carrier fighter pilots becoming airborne drone commanders. But then, playing plane guard on a destroyer aft of a carrier on a rainy night proved the aircrews earned their pay.
The military is brutal when it comes to needs of the service. There is little grace, nor should there be. It’s not whether we have a need, it’s whether the service has a need. And, things today are very fluid. When the need is no longer there, it’s pretty much done. One example is when the VN riverine thing died in the 70s, the guys (O-3 through O-4 and some 5s) who were experts found that the fleet had moved on. Brown Water Bronze and Silver Stars were colorful but didn’t count for much with selection boards. I remember that as an Antisubmarine specialist the whole field changed in the 2+ yrs I was away. Fortunately, I did see a window for a specialty and just made it in time. Otherwise, out at O-3 on 7 even as Regular Navy. Today the flow points are much different, and they will keep fluctuating over time especially with the acceleration of tech. Some see the days of carrier fighter pilots becoming airborne drone commanders. But then, playing plane guard on a destroyer aft of a carrier on a rainy night proved the aircrews earned their pay.
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For mother AF it is expense. For the Guard, you more than likely need to talk to a recruiter. We have 135 boards every 90 days because of the pilot shortage so not sure where the disconnect is. The Reserve is a bit different, but guessing they are in the same boat as the ANG.
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