The Air Force needs to do more to retain the professionals who maintain the service’s aircraft, according to a Feb. 5 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). While the service’s use of retention bonuses helps, GAO stated, it is not enough.
The service has been able to reduce the gap between actual and authorized staffing levels somewhat, GAO acknowledged. In fiscal year 2017 (Oct. 1, 2016-Sept. 30, 2017), for example, the Air Force was short 745 maintainers out of 66,559 positions. This compared favorably to two years earlier, when the shortage stood at 4,016 maintainers, out of 66,439 authorized positions.
Still, GAO reported, the Air Force has had trouble retaining its most skilled maintainers – who are responsible for training novices – in seven of the past eight years. Moreover, GAO reported that the service anticipates continuing trouble retaining a consistent number of its most experienced maintenance specialists through 2023.
The Air Force “does not have goals and a strategy to help retain maintainers,” GAO stated. Annual retention goals needed to “address experience gaps” need to be set as well.
“Without goals to measure progress and a retention strategy to guide efforts, the Air Force could face further challenges in managing its maintenance workforce, ensuring there are enough experienced maintainers to meet mission needs.”