Fail flight school? You’re out — even ROTC, academy grads
By Vivienne Heines Times staff writer
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With retention continuing at near-record levels, the Navy has been involuntarily separating officers who wash out of flight school since earlier this year.
But up until Dec. 1, only officers commissioned at Officer Candidate School have been affected.
Beginning immediately, Naval Academy and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps graduates can be axed if they can’t make it through flight training.
“Almost all the communities are full, so there’s not really a place for these people to go,” said Lt. Rob Lyon, spokesman for Naval Air Training Command. The Training Command oversees five training air stations where more than 1,600 aviators each year receive their wings of gold.
During fiscal 2003, 131 student pilots were cut from the training program; another 161 were disqualified from the navigator training program, according to the Navy.
In the past, many of these officers would have been transferred to other communities. But with more officers choosing to make the Navy a career than in the past, there are fewer openings in other communities to fill with aviation washouts.
The overall officer loss rate for 2003 was 7.12 percent, down from 11.11 percent in 1999, according to Cmdr. John Kirby, spokesman for the Chief of Naval Personnel.
“The ongoing war on terrorism may imbue service members with a patriotic call to serve,” Kirby said. “Patriotism, combined with a sluggish economy, is most likely responsible for today’s higher retention. We anticipate an eventual change in the economy will occur and result in a return to historical loss rates.”
Aviator retention, measured across the Defense Department, is at 48.73 percent for this fiscal year, 6.3 percentage points above last year’s level. Aviator retention has been high in recent years, officials have said, as jobs have dwindled in commercial aviation, a traditional job source for former military pilots.
“We are pleased whenever retention increases; however, we monitor this behavior very closely, realizing that fluctuations in the economy can quickly affect retention behavior,” Kirby said.
End of a 12-year career
Ensign Heath Alvarez, 31, a student flight officer in Pensacola, Fla., was surprised and devastated by the policy.
With 10 years as an enlisted man, and two as an officer, he contracted meningitis in August 2002 while in flight school. Although he since has recovered, the illness resulted in his being reclassified “not physically qualified” — NPQ — for the flight program.
But instead of being allowed to continue his career in some other capacity — Alvarez requested redesignation to supply, medical service corps or public affairs — he will be discharged by June 2004.
“I want to stay in the Navy,” Alvarez said. “There’s nothing else I want to do except serve my country in a military role. This is my calling in life.”
Alvarez said he worked his way through college to become an officer. “I sacrificed a lot to get to this position, and the Navy is pulling the rug out from under me. There’s a lot of other things I could do in the Navy that I know I’m qualified to do. There’s no reason to kick us out.”
Alvarez said the policy should allow for exceptions “for those of us who have shown dedication to the Navy and never quit.”
Like Alvarez, Ensign Patrick Griffin, 33, became an officer and went to flight school after an enlisted career. He had almost completed flight training to be a helicopter pilot when he was cut for low grades. He requested a waiver, but it was denied in October.
“There’s a lot of different skills that the prior enlisted guys have brought in that would still be beneficial to the Navy,” he said. “They’re going to lose out on a lot of talent and leadership.”
Stable attrition rates
Officials say it’s not the attrition rates that have changed — those rates have stayed the same in recent years. Overall attrition for Navy and Marine Corps student pilots in training is about 15 percent..
In the past, students who washed out from jets could look to another pipeline to continue in naval aviation, perhaps turning to maritime or helicopters if they did well in primary training.
Other students could request a transfer to another community. Among the most commonly requested transfers were to intelligence, human resources, information professional and public affairs, Kirby said.
Lyon added that officers also could request a transfer to another military service.
“A number of them have taken that option,” Lyon said.
Academy and ROTC grads were protected from such a fate for most of the past year. But not anymore. Regardless of their accession source, Kirby said, officers applying for lateral transfers need to be qualified for the communities to which they apply.
“The Navy retains the authority to waive active minimum service requirements to meet budgetary and force size requirements.”
