{"id":39759,"date":"2022-10-11T20:33:15","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T20:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:15:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:15:43","slug":"air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force expects to complete its two-year transition to the new undergraduate pilot training curriculum by the end of October, the head of Air Education and Training Command recently told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service officials contend that \u201cUndergraduate Pilot Training 2.5,\u201d a software-heavy, self-paced version of the course, is producing better-prepared pilots faster than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The syllabus tries to give airmen the manual stick-and-rudder skills to deftly fly a jet, plus the multitasking and critical thinking abilities to juggle airstrikes, intelligence-gathering sensors and collaboration with other combat assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/03\/24\/as-air-force-revamps-pilot-training-flight-safety-concerns-linger\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6324002.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">As Air Force revamps pilot training, flight safety concerns linger<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Air Force hopes its new approach to pilot training will not only produce better pilots but also keep airmen safe in the cockpit.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need airmen that are agile of mind, competent, credible, confident,\u201d AETC boss Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson said Sept. 12. \u201cWe\u2019ll find and grow those airmen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program has been adopted across the Air Force\u2019s three undergraduate flight school bases: Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi; Vance AFB, Oklahoma; and Laughlin AFB, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Undergraduate pilot training that used to last a full year has shrunk by nearly half. Students earn their pilot\u2019s wings after about seven months while flying the T-6 Texan II training aircraft in UPT 2.5, then move onto the T-38 Talon or T-1 Jayhawk for about five more months of specialized lessons in flying fighter, bomber or mobility planes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force said it could not provide the number of pilots who have graduated under UPT 2.5 or its fiscal 2022 total by press time. Nearly 1,400 airmen earned their wings in fiscal 2021, just shy of the service\u2019s annual goal of producing at least 1,480 new pilots each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/06\/22\/air-force-grapples-with-enduring-pilot-shortage-as-airlines-begin-to-rehire\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/pilots.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force grapples with enduring pilot shortage as airlines begin to rehire<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">More pilots are opting to stay in the Air Force amid pandemic-era uncertainty, but the service is still struggling to fill jobs in its marquee profession as commercial airlines resume hiring.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of about two dozen airmen who graduated from the Air Mobility Fundamentals course \u2014 which prepares pilots to fly cargo, tanker, special operations and surveillance aircraft \u2014 all but three performed better in that specialized training under the new syllabus than airmen who went through the traditional undergraduate pilot course, Robinson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1198\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/T-38-Laughlin.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/T-38-Laughlin.jpg.jpg 1198w, https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/T-38-Laughlin.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/T-38-Laughlin.jpg.jpg?resize=768,403 768w, https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/T-38-Laughlin.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,537 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1198px) 100vw, 1198px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Air Force 2nd Lt. Johnny Rue, left, checks the equipment of 2nd Lt. Christopher Ugale, both pilot trainees with the 47th Student Squadron, before Ugale\u2019s first flight at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, on Aug. 4, 2021. (Senior Airman Nicholas Larsen\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSeveral had come out as distinguished graduates in their [formal training units], so we think we\u2019ve got it pretty close to right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a recent visit to Laughlin, Robinson said he overheard a student talking about the acrobatics they\u2019d attempted in a simulator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen they went and flew that same maneuver in the aircraft \u2014 actually, as they were upside-down, looking down at their ground references \u2014 they looked exactly like they looked in the immersive training device,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were comfortable with where they were; they\u2019d seen it before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/08\/22\/new-air-force-leaders-view-plans-for-more-virtual-pilot-training\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6324004.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">New Air Force leaders view plans for more virtual pilot training<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The newest version of undergraduate pilot training will scale up lessons learned from the Pilot Training Next virtual reality experiment.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UPT 2.5 has sought to give students more control over their own education at a time when the instructor pilot corps is struggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some airmen who dislike the changes continue to anonymously air their grievances on social media. That includes instructors who are unhappy with the workload that comes with a civilian staff shortage and a more intensive syllabus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials recognize that UPT 2.5 has asked more of instructors than in the past, Robinson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the manning level of active duty instructor pilots is \u201cclose to where we\u2019d like it in most locations,\u201d at 80% of positions staffed or higher, Robinson said the Air Force is hurting for civilians to run its flight simulators. Those jobs are about 60% filled, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why? Those potential sim instructors are instead opting to live in less rural areas and snag the six-figure pay offered by commercial airlines \u2014 meaning uniformed instructors have to pick up the slack in a course that heavily depends on simulators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey have to fill the void for the civilian sim instructors to keep students moving through the UPT 2.5 production pipeline, which adds to their workload,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cIt\u2019s important that we find solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/05\/25\/rising-number-of-pilot-hopefuls-among-2022-air-force-academy-grads\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FTjcqk6UsAAbI_z.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Rising number of pilot hopefuls among 2022 Air Force Academy grads<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">About 975 newly minted air and space officers graduated at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AETC says the coronavirus vaccine mandate isn\u2019t interfering with its ability to keep up pilot production, despite reports that some unvaccinated flight instructors aren\u2019t allowed to train students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One option may be to offer civilian instructors more money. Robinson said the Air Force is working with Congress to give it more leeway to hire private citizens at a higher price point. Those who work in commercial aviation typically make the same salary whether flying in a simulator or in a real aircraft, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal data shows <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bts.dot.gov\/newsroom\/us-cargo-and-passenger-airlines-lost-few-jobs-july-2022-employment-remains-33-above-pre\" target=\"_blank\">airline industry employment has rebounded<\/a> from a pandemic-era low of 669,000 in fall 2020 to 768,000 in July 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re hearing the airline hiring is picking up \u2026 so they can improve the service to their customer base,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen it have a significant impact yet [on] our instructors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service is likewise exploring whether one person can remotely operate multiple simulators to help several students at once. AETC is working through the technical issues that could stymie that plan, like insufficient infrastructure or bandwidth.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/07\/28\/hundreds-of-air-force-training-planes-grounded-over-ejection-seat-concerns\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q75-2-2.jpg-2.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Hundreds of Air Force training planes grounded over ejection seat concerns<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The service has stopped flying 203 T-38 Talons and 76 T-6 Texan IIs that may be affected by defective ejection seat parts.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And, the Air Force will use its \u201cPalace Acquire\u201d internship program to attract flight instructors for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Starting in November, the service will try bringing in three college graduates with private pilot\u2019s licenses and put them through undergraduate pilot training. Once finished, they\u2019ll stick around as civilian flight instructors, Robinson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If successful, the initiative could ramp up over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are hoping to see great return and benefit on that,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s unclear how many airmen have graduated from the new pilot training program overall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","home","left-column"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,24,88,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3392],"class_list":["post-39759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2QVMMSACKZBGFIOTWKE6CDAYWE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It&#039;s unclear how many airmen have graduated from the new pilot training program overall.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It&#039;s unclear how many airmen have graduated from the new pilot training program overall.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-11T20:33:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:15:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel S. Cohen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachel S. Cohen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f1587e1f8c0d41f0683bf42b02602ad8\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2022-10-11T20:33:15+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:15:43+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 887,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Left Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Air Force\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors - Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2022-10-11T20:33:15+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:15:43+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"It's unclear how many airmen have graduated from the new pilot training program overall.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/11\\\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Air Force\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-air-force\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Air Force TImes\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f1587e1f8c0d41f0683bf42b02602ad8\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/staging.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors - Air Force TImes","description":"It's unclear how many airmen have graduated from the new pilot training program overall.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors","og_description":"It's unclear how many airmen have graduated from the new pilot training program overall.","og_url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/","og_site_name":"Air Force TImes","article_published_time":"2022-10-11T20:33:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T21:15:43+00:00","author":"Rachel S. Cohen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rachel S. Cohen","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/f1587e1f8c0d41f0683bf42b02602ad8"},"headline":"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors","datePublished":"2022-10-11T20:33:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:15:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/"},"wordCount":887,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Left Column","News","Newsletters","Your Air Force"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/","name":"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors - Air Force TImes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg","datePublished":"2022-10-11T20:33:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:15:43+00:00","description":"It's unclear how many airmen have graduated from the new pilot training program overall.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/11\/air-force-praises-new-pilot-training-but-struggles-to-hire-instructors\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Air Force","item":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/","ad_zone":"your-air-force"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","name":"Air Force TImes","description":"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization","name":"Air Force TImes","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","caption":"Air Force TImes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/f1587e1f8c0d41f0683bf42b02602ad8","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Air Force TImes","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/220330-F-IL807-0026.jfif_.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39759"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39766,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39759\/revisions\/39766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39759"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=39759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}