Empty instructor slots won’t be filled soon

[unhappycamper]

Empty instructor slots won’t be filled soon
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 26, 2009 18:38:46 EST

The Air Force’s shortage of recruiters and basic military training instructors is likely to continue for at least the rest of this fiscal year, the service’s top training officer said Monday.

The Air Force is working to fill the shortage of about 200 military training instructors and 500 recruiters, but probably won’t be able to fill all the slots this year, said Gen. Stephen Lorenz, commander of Air Education and Training Command.

“What I think will happen ... is that between now and the end of the year we will get more military training instructors and recruiters in the system,” Lorenz said. “But will we get to the exact number that we need by the end of the year? a high probability that won’t happen.”

The Air Force is increasing its enlisted accessions in fiscal 2009 by 4,180, to 31,980. That is a 15 percent increase compared to the previous goal of 27,500 new airmen.

The increased recruiting goal is the result of the early termination of the Air Force’s personnel drawdown. The original plan called for the Air Force to shrink to 316,500 active-duty airmen by the end of fiscal 2009, but Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has since said the service will grow to 332,700 airmen by the end of fiscal 2010. The Air Force had 324,633 airmen as of Dec. 30.


Rest of article at: http://airforcetimes.com/news/2009/01/airforce_instructor_shortage_012609/%2e