By Tyler Grimes, Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia / Published July 25, 2017
The Air Force Reserve has 290 pilot vacancies across the command. The Air Force has a shortage of more than 1,500 pilots across the total force.
Maj. Tim Pfeifer, an Air Force Reservist with the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, and a commercial pilot with American Airlines, prepares his HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter for a mission. The Air Force pilot shortage that is impacting the total force is expected to grow, given the fact that the major airlines are projected to hire more than 4,000 pilots a year for at least the next 10 years. (Senior Master Sgt. Elaine Mayo)
Capt. Lyndsey Goodman is a C-17 pilot with the 317th Airlift Squadron at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. Her organization is breaking the pilot shortage trend with 100 percent manning. (Staff Sgt. Jeff Kelly)
Even though the pilot shortage is hitting fighter units the hardest, it is also having an impact on other flying organizations as well, including training squadrons like the 5th Flying Training Squadron at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where Lt. Col. Darren "Shead" McTee, a T-38 instructor pilot, is assigned. (Courtesy photo)