The Air Force Has Made Efforts to Manage RPA Pilots but Faces Challenges to Recruit, Develop, and Retain Pilots and Build Their Morale

The Air Force has taken some steps toward managing RPA pilots using a  strategic human-capital approach but faces several challenges including  accurately identifying personnel requirements, limited training time for  pilots, recruiting and retention difficulties, and incorporating feedback from  RPA pilots into its operations. Air Force Has Not Accurately Identified Optimum Personnel Requirements and Has Not Established a Minimum Personnel Requirement

The Air Force has not accurately identified optimum personnel  requirements, or crew ratio, for the number of RPA pilots it requires. In the 2008 study that  the Air Force Manpower Agency conducted to determine the appropriate  crew ratios for MQ-1 Predator squadrons, the Air Force did not account  for all of the flying and administrative tasks that are required in these  squadrons. Headquarters Air Force  officials stated that updating the crew ratio has not been a top priority. Such risks can arise when crew-ratio requirements are set too low, as  well as when units operate at crew ratios that are too far below optimum  crew ratios. The Air Force Faces Challenges Recruiting RPA Pilots and May Face Challenges Retaining Them in the Future

The Air Force has used a dual strategy to meet its increasing need for  RPA pilots: using manned-aircraft pilots and recruiting RPA pilots, the  career field established in 2010 for officers trained to only fly RPAs. High-performing organizations tailor their  recruitment and retention strategies to meet their specific mission  needs. The Air Force Has Mechanisms to Collect Feedback from RPA Pilots but Has Not Used That Feedback to Manage Its Human-Capital Strategy for RPA Pilots

While the Air Force has mechanisms in place to collect feedback from  RPA pilots, it has not used this feedback to develop its strategic human- capital approach to managing RPA pilots, such as by incorporating their  feedback into tailoring a recruiting and retention strategy or by taking  actions related to training and development. Air Force Has Taken Some Actions to Address the Potentially Challenging Working Conditions RPA Pilots Face but Has Not Fully Analyzed Being Deployed-on-Station

		Air Force RPA Pilots Find Their Work Rewarding but Report Multiple Challenging Working Conditions, Some of Which the Air Force Has Taken Actions to Address

RPA pilots find their mission rewarding, but they reported that they face  multiple, challenging working conditions. Air Force Has Not Fully Analyzed Challenges That RPA Pilots Face Related to Being Deployed-on- Station

RPA pilots also face challenges related to being deployed-on-station as  they balance their warfighting responsibilities with their personal lives. Because pilots are able to operate RPAs from Air Force bases in the  United States and are thus able to live at home—what is known as being  deployed-on-station—their dual role juxtaposes stress related to  supporting combat operations with the strains that can occur in their  personal lives. The Air Force Monitors RPA Pilot Promotion Rates but Has Not Analyzed Factors Related to Those Rates

		The Air Force Monitors RPA Pilot Promotion Rates and Has Found That They Are Lower Than in Other Career Fields

AFPC monitors the promotion rates of RPA pilots and has found that they  were promoted below the average rate for active-duty line officers on 20  of 24 officer promotion boards since 2006. Finally, without evaluating the viability of using alternative personnel  populations, such as enlisted or civilian personnel, the Air Force may not  meet and sustain required RPA pilot staffing levels. However, without analyzing whether being deployed-on-station  has long-term negative effects, the Air Force does not have the  information it needs to determine whether it should take any action in  response. Recommendations for Executive Action

We recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the Secretary of the  Air Force to take the following seven actions: update crew ratios for RPA units to help ensure that the Air Force  establishes a more-accurate understanding of the required number of  RPA pilots needed in its units, establish a minimum crew ratio in Air Force policy below which RPA  units cannot operate without running unacceptable levels of risk to  accomplishing the mission and ensuring safety, develop a recruiting and retention strategy that is a tailored to the  specific needs and challenges of RPA pilots to help ensure that the  Air Force can meet and retain required staffing levels to meet its  mission, evaluate the viability of using alternative personnel populations  including enlisted or civilian personnel as RPA pilots to identify  whether such populations could help the Air Force meet and sustain  required RPA pilot staffing levels,  incorporate feedback from RPA pilots by using existing mechanisms  or by collecting direct feedback from RPA pilots, analyze the effects of being deployed-on-station to determine whether  there are resulting negative effects on the quality of life of RPA pilots  and take responsive actions as appropriate, and  include the career field effect of being an RPA pilot into AFPC’s  analysis to determine whether and how being an RPA pilot is related  to promotions and determine whether the factors AFPC identified in its  analysis of Line of the Air Force officers are also related to RPA pilot  promotions. In its written  comments, the Air Force concurred with four of our seven  recommendations and partially concurred with the remaining three  recommendations. Finally, it is unclear whether the Air  Force is targeting actions to increase RPA promotion rates at the right  factors and thus its actions may have limited effect. To evaluate the extent to which the Air Force has addressed concerns, if  any, about the working conditions of RPA pilots that may affect their  quality of life, we identified and analyzed criteria included in DOD’s 2009  and 2004 Quadrennial Quality of Life Reviews in which DOD expresses  its commitment to provide servicemembers with the best quality of life  possible through support and development of responses to emerging  servicemember needs.
Why GAO Did This Study

Since 2008, the Air Force has more than tripled the number of its active-duty pilots flying RPAs, which is the term the Air Force uses to refer to unmanned aerial systems such as the MQ-1 Predator. Due to increases in demand, RPA pilots have had a significant increase in workload since 2007. GAO was asked to evaluate the Air Force's approach to managing its RPA pilots as well as their quality of life and promotion rates. For this review, GAO evaluated the extent to which the Air Force (1) has used a strategic human-capital approach to manage RPA pilots; (2) has addressed concerns, if any, about the working conditions of RPA pilots that may affect their quality of life; and (3) analyzes the promotion rates of RPA pilots.
GAO analyzed personnel planning documents, Air Force studies, and officer promotion data. GAO also interviewed unit commanders at selected Air Force bases and Headquarters Air Force officials and conducted focus groups with RPA pilots. While the results of these focus groups are not generalizable, they provide valuable insights.

What GAO Found

The Air Force has managed its remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) pilots using some strategic human-capital approaches, such as planning for the different levels of experience that it needs in these pilots. However, it continues to face challenges. High-performing organizations manage human capital to identify the right number of personnel and to target the right sources to fill personnel needs. In 2008, the Air Force determined the optimum number of RPA pilots—the crew ratio—for some units, but it did not account for all tasks these units complete. Air Force officials stated that, as a result, the crew ratio is too low, but the Air Force has not updated it. Air Force guidance states that low crew ratios diminish combat capability and cause flight safety to suffer, but the Air Force has operated below its optimum crew ratio and it has not established a minimum crew ratio. Further, high work demands on RPA pilots limit the time they have available for training and development and negatively affects their work-life balance. In addition, the Air Force faces challenges recruiting officers into the RPA pilot career and may face challenges retaining them in the future. High-performing organizations tailor their recruiting and retention strategies to meet their specific mission needs, but the Air Force has not tailored its approach to recruiting and retaining RPA pilots nor considered the viability of using alternative personnel such as enlisted personnel or civilians. Without developing an approach to recruiting and retaining RPA pilots and evaluating the viability of using alternative personnel populations for the RPA pilot career, the Air Force may continue to face challenges, further exacerbating existing shortfalls of RPA pilots. Moreover, the Air Force has not used direct feedback from RPA pilots via existing mechanisms, or otherwise, to develop its approach to managing challenges related to recruiting, retention, training, and development of RPA pilots.
The Air Force has taken some actions to address potentially difficult working conditions RPA pilots face, but it has not fully analyzed the challenge pilots face to balance their warfighting roles with their personal lives. RPA pilots operate RPAs from bases in the United States and live at home; thus they experience combat alongside their personal lives—known as being deployed-on-station—which RPA pilots stated negatively affects their morale. While the Department of Defense has committed to maintaining high morale for servicemembers, the Air Force has not fully analyzed the effects on morale related to being deployed-on-station, and thus it does not know whether it needs to take actions in response.
The Air Force monitors RPA pilot promotion rates, but has not analyzed factors that may relate to their low promotion rates. Statistical principles call for researchers to account for potential key factors in analysis because when they omit key factors, the relationships between other factors may not be accurately estimated. The Air Force analyzed promotions across a group of officers, including RPA pilots, and found factors that related to promotions in general. However, the Air Force has not analyzed the factors related to RPA pilots' promotions specifically and, as a result, it does not have the information to determine what factors may affect their promotions. Consequently, the Air Force may not be targeting actions it is taking to raise RPA pilot promotion rates at the appropriate factors, and information it has reported to Congress may not be accurate.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the Air Force update optimum crew ratios; establish a minimum crew ratio; develop a recruiting and retention strategy; evaluate using alternative personnel populations to be pilots; use feedback from RPA pilots; analyze the effects of being deployed-on-station; and analyze the effect that being an RPA pilot has on promotions. The Air Force concurred with four recommendations and partially concurred with the remaining three recommendations.