Personality: Its Use in Selecting Candidates for US Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training

摘要

Air Training Command (ATC) is faced with a serious problem. Pilots are washing out of undergraduate pilot training (UPT) at a rate higher than any in recent memory. The high attrition rate and the problems associated with it are major concerns. This study addresses these concerns. ATC determines the expected UPT attrition rate and calls it the programmed attrition rate. A comparison of this programmed rate with the actual attrition rate reveals that the actual attrition rate has exceeded the programmed rate in seven of the last eight years; and when there is a large difference between the rates, as in fiscal year 1987, the US Air Force has great difficulty in meeting its pilot manning requirements. A second problem is the increased cost associated with a high attrition rate. As attrition rates increase, the cost per student increases; and increased training costs impact the overall Air Force budget. Yet higher than expected attrition has been a persistent problem in recent years. The Air Force has three commissioning organizations: Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC), Officer Training School (OTS), and the US Air Force Academy (USAFA). UPT candidates from each of these commissioning sources have been selected on the basis of criteria unrelated to success; that is, the three commissioning sources have been selecting candidates for UPT at a success rate little better than random for the past 10 years. (sdw)