THE EMPTY NEST SYNDROME OF THE PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE

 

Major Juan Dela Cruz (not his real name) is currently assigned at a maintenance unit of the Philippine Air Force.

For as long as he could remember, Major Dela Cruz wanted to be a pilot. And when he first completed his first solo flight, it was a dream come true. Shortly after graduating from the Philippine Air Force Flying School, he was assigned with the 5^th Fighter Wing at Basa Air Base, Pampanga. Major dela Cruz flew the Aermacchi S-211, a jet powered aircraft originally designed to be a trainer aircraft but was also utilized by the PAF for reconnaissance and close air support missions.

In 1995, Major dela Cruz was one of the pilots tasked to patrol the Spratly Group of Islands off the shores of Palawan. It was a time of considerable tension between the People’s Republic of China and the Philippines because both countries claimed jurisdiction over the islands. It was also a source of deep pride for Major dela Cruz as one of the chosen few to be an aerial representative of the Philippines at the time.

As it turned out, it was the highlight of Major dela Cruz’s Air Force career. Soon after, he was assigned to a string of non-flying assignments. Because of the PAF’s shortage of aircraft, he had to give way to incoming pilot officers.

The situation was further compounded when the PAF downsized and was forced to deactivate its external defense systems in response to a directive issued by the Department of National Defense to focus all assets to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Internal Security Operations (ISO) campaign.

This left virtually all jet fighter pilots, once the most elite members of the PAF, out in the cold. With no aircraft to fly, they were relegated to ground officer status.

On the other hand, pilots involved in ISO were forced to contend with aircraft that were first activated into service fifty years ago. A spate of accidents, including the crash of a UH-1H helicopter that took the lives of two air force personnel and seven civilians, as well as the OV-10 crash in Bulacan that cost the life of an air force pilot, underscored the danger that they had to deal with by operating antiquated aircraft.

 

In light of these developments, the lure of commercial flight soon became irresistible for most Air Force pilots. Dozens left the service for greener pastures shortly after the expiration of their service contract. In the PAF, the contract of service obligation is for eight years. Pilots who resign before their eight year in service are required to pay the cost of training, which is equal to their unserved period of contract. This is an expense that migrating pilots are all too willing to pay.

For the past 10 years, from an almost constant rate of 3% per year, a dramatic increase of least 7% of pilots retired or resigned from the PAF was registered in 2006. The problem had become so pronounced that batches of pilot officers lost more than 60% to pilot migration. One batch reportedly had only 5 remaining active Air Force officers out of 32.

The loss of pilot officers was also apparent in the conduct of career courses. One case in point is the ongoing Air Force Squadron Officers Course or SOC. The SOC is usually taken by officers with the rank of Captain who are on the verge of being promoted to the next rank, which is Major. But this year’s SOC Class was composed mostly of junior captains.

The same holds true for another career course, the General Staff Course, which is normally taken by officers with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. However, because of pilot migration, several Air Force majors are already taking the course.

The current PAF Commanding General, Lieutenant General Horacio Tolentino, has vowed to do all he could to retain as many Air Force pilots as he could. But he also admitted that he himself once contemplated leaving the service to work as an airline pilot and that he could understand the motivation behind the migration – which is mainly economic.

The average monthly take home pay of a Philippine Air Force Major is around 30,000 pesos or about 700 US dollars. If he decides to work as a commercial pilot, he could realize an income three times that in the service, around 90,000 pesos or 2,100 US dollars.

PAF spokesman Maj. Augusto de la Peña, said that there is no shortage of pilots in the Air Force. “In fact, if you study the figures even at 25 or 50 pilots resigning compared to the total number of Philippine Air Force pilots at 1,000, this is merely five percent of our total pilot corps”.

Nevertheless, the migration of pilots with eight years or less active service has posed manning problems for the organization. Between the new pilot recruits and senior pilots, there is a widening vacuum of the young and experienced pilots that the PAF sorely needs to train the next generation of pilots. To remedy the dilemma, the PAF is currently formulating a retention program for aviation skilled personnel and have taken the initial steps towards cementing a Memorandum of Agreement with the different local commercial airlines. Cebu Pacific has already expressed interest with the proposed plan to acquire Air Force pilots with at least 17 years of active service.

Another factor that has further sweetened the pot for PAF pilots is the increasing global demand for pilots. India has fewer than 3,000 pilots today, but will need more than 12,000 by 2025. China will need an average of 2,162 new pilots a year, or 43,240 by 2025. Central America and South America will need 1,344 new pilots a year. South America has fewer than 10,000 commercial jetliner pilots today. It will need nearly 27,000 by 2025. Europe will need an average of 3,747 new pilots a year. The Middle East and Africa will need an average of 1,205 pilots a year. And Filipino pilots are in high demand and needed desperately because of their natural grasp of English, the official language of international aviation.

Major dela Cruz is already contemplating the service. He would have liked nothing else but to serve as an Air Force pilot. But to be a pilot, one needs an aircraft, a commodity that is already becoming scarce in the PAF. His wife is also fully aware of the rewards of leaving the service and working for a commercial airline and always makes sure to remind Major dela Cruz of it. But because of the decreased number of officer pilots within the ranks, Major dela Cruz’s chances of becoming a general one day have also increased exponentially. But, as Major dela Cruz put it, “What is the use of becoming a general if I don’t have an Air Force to command in the first place?”