Veteran Air Warriors

THERE IS A CRISIS WITHIN BOTH PRIVATE AND MILITARY AVIATION WORLDS. THERE SIMPLY ARE NOT ENOUGH PILOTS OR TECHNICIANS (AVIATION MECHANIC) TO FILL MINIMUM NEEDS. U.S. VETERANS CAN HELP ADDRESS THIS SHORTAGE, MANY SIMPLY NEED HELP ACQUIRING THE NECESSARY LICENSES AND QUALIFICATIONS TO BE MARKETABLE FOR EMPLOYMENT WITHIN PRIVATE AVIATION. BOEING'S PILOT PROJECTION STUDY RELEASED IN 2018 CITES A NEED FOR 206,000 NEW PILOTS WITHIN THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS, OR 28 PILOTS EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS. BOEING PREDICTS THE NEED FOR TECHNICIANS (A&P MECHANICS) TO BE 189,000 OVER THE SAME TIMEFRAME. WHILE THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL STUDENTS ENROLLED IN PILOT TRAINING CURRICULUM IS INCREASING, THE ENROLLMENT RATES ARE TRENDING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A 27% DECREASE IN PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATIONS AND A 21% DECREASE IN COMMERCIAL PILOT LICENSE CERTIFICATIONS (AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS.) FLYING MAGAZINE REPORTED IN A SEPTEMBER 2018 ARTICLE THAT IN 2017 THERE WERE, "2,500 UNFILLED TECHNICAL [A&P MECHANIC] POSITIONS" WHICH RESULTED IN AN ESTIMATED IMPACT OF "$1.95 BILLION IN LOST OPPORTUNITY AND FOREGONE REVENUE EACH YEAR." SOME AVIATION COMPANIES HAVE GROUNDED AS HIGH AS 30% OF THEIR FLEET SIMPLY DUE TO THE LACK OF MANPOWER TO FLY AND MAINTAIN THEIR EQUIPMENT. OTHERS HAVE SIMPLY GONE OUT OF BUSINESS, UNABLE TO ATTRACT THE NECESSARY SKILLED EMPLOYEES. THE U.S. MILITARY IS FEELING THE EFFECTS OF THE SHORTAGE AS WELL. ACCORDING TO MILITARY TIMES, 1 IN 4 AIRFORCE FIGHTER PILOT BILLETS WERE LEFT UNFILLED IN 2017 AND 10% OF ALL MILITARY PILOT BILLETS HAVE BEEN LEFT VACANT. THE PRIVATE INDUSTRY'S EFFORTS TO ATTRACT MILITARY PILOTS THAT ARE NEAR THEIR REENLISTMENT DATE HAS EXASPERATED THE MILITARY'S RETENTION EFFORTS AND POTENTIALLY WEAKENING MILITARY READINESS. THE PRIVATE AVIATION INDUSTRY IS SEARCHING FOR QUALIFIED PILOTS WITH STRONG CHARACTER, WORK ETHIC AND COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE. THEY HAVE CONSISTENTLY FOUND THESE TRAITS IN MILITARY PILOTS. VETERAN AIR WARRIORS STRONGLY BELIEVES THAT THESE TRAITS CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN VETERANS WHO DID NOT FLY WHILE SERVING. WITH ASSISTANCE FROM VETERAN AIR WARRIORS, NON-FLYING VETERANS CAN HELP ADDRESS THIS INDUSTRY CRISIS, HELP VETERANS PURSUE SIGNIFICANT JOB OPPORTUNITIES, WHILE ALSO REDUCING THE NEED TO POACH PILOTS FROM WITHIN CURRENT MILITARY RANKS. VETERAN AIR WARRIORS HAS DEVELOPED A PROGRAM, IN COOPERATION WITH SEVERAL STRATEGIC PARTNERS, TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TRAINING, MENTORSHIP AND A SOLID CAREER PATH TO AMERICA'S MILITARY VETERANS, HELPING THEM BECOME A SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONAL IN AMERICA'S AVIATION INDUSTRY. THE ORGANIZATION INITIALLY PROVIDES ASSISTANCE BY PROVIDING HELP PLANNING THE VETERAN'S FLIGHT TRAINING (THROUGH CFII) AS WELL AS PROVIDING FINANCIAL AID TO ACQUIRE THE PRIVATE PILOT'S LICENSE. THIS IS OFTEN THE MOST EXPENSIVE AND DIFFICULT HURDLE FOR VETERANS TO OVERCOME. ONCE A PRIVATE PILOT'S LICENSE IS ACQUIRED, THE ORGANIZATION WILL HELP THE VETERAN UTILIZE THEIR GI BILL TO COVER MUCH OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH INSTRUMENT, COMMERCIAL, MULTI-ENGINE, CFI & CFII RATINGS. AFTER FLIGHT TRAINING, THE ORGANIZATION OFFERS ASSISTANCE FOR THE VETERAN TO FIND EMPLOYMENT, FROM HELPING TO FIND CFI OPPORTUNITIES TO OFFERING ACCESS TO A NETWORK OF SUPPORTERS AND ORGANIZATION ALUMNI WITHIN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY.