Amid Air Force pilot shortage, new Academy graduates plan to fill gap

Cadets graduating as Second Lieutenants from the Air Force Academy Wednesday will be helping fill a critical need for the Air Force.

More than half of this year’s class is headed to pilot training as the military branch is in desperate need of pilots.

Cadet First Class Aspen Sulte is a glider instructor pilot at the Air Force Academy. It’s where her passion that’s grown for more than 10 years becomes a reality.

Sulte was just nine years old when she first wanted to be a pilot, all thanks to meeting a female F-22 Raptor pilot.

“She was like, ‘I went to the Academy, I was a glider instructor pilot and I majored in Astro.’ And I was like ‘I’m going to do that,'” Sulte said. “I did exactly that and I’m here today.”

On an early Thursday morning at the Air Force Academy, alongside the gliders in the sky, cadets were hanging below a canopy. That’s how Cadet First Class Ben Hatfield grew his passion.

For Hatfield, it was jumping out of planes, parachuting down for the Wings of Blue.

“When I’m in freefall and we’re trying to build a formation or something like that, I know I’m counting on them to do their job and they’re counting on me to do the same thing,” Hatfield said.

It’s trust, coupled with training, rigorous academics, physical fitness and military knowledge the cadets learn at the Academy that is preparing them for a military career.

“I’m responsible for motivating and inspiring them to want to be pilots,” Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, superintendent for the Academy said.

Silveria addressed the Air Force pilot shortage during the State of USAFA. Silveria said the military branch can only train 1,200 pilots a year.

“With those 1,200, that does not meet the demand of what the Air Force has as far as retention, as far as retirement,” Sileria said. “That’s why we’re falling behind as far as a pilot shortage,” Silveria said.

Right now, 511 cadets from the Class of 2018 are going to some form of pilot training, which is more than half of the class.

“The highest it’s been in years,” Silveria said.

For cadets choosing the pilot path, it’s two years of pilot training and a 10-year commitment active duty in the Air Force.

Each cadet takes a different path to becoming a pilot.

For example, Cadet First Class Madison Lohman majored in legal studies major and is on the dance team and an artist in training.

“Something in my heart was telling me I wanted to be a pilot,” Lohman said.

She’s one of 58 female cadets going to pilot training from this year’s class. More than 75 percent of the 2018 pilot spots are being filled by male cadets.

Mentors encouraged Lohman to continue pursuing her goal in a male-dominated field.

“He was a fighter F-16 pilot, and he was like, ‘You know what Madison? If you want to wear pink nail polish and you can fly a plane and be competent, that’s all we could ever ask for,'” Lohman said, recalling an exchange with a mentor.

Other women cadets, like Cadet First Class Christina Kelvin and Cadet First Class Macy Miller, are ready to serve alongside their classmates.

“There’s a big press for pilots and being part of this generation where we have to step up,” Miller said.

“I’m proud to serve alongside them,” Kelvin said.

All five cadets will be going to Air Force bases around the country to complete their pilot training.

The cadets said one of the biggest things they will take away from the Academy to the next step in their military career is the rigorous academics they’ve endured over the past four years.