SerpApi.Org
When the next conflict comes, we won't have time to create seasoned fighter pilots. We won't have years to develop instructor pilots, squadron commanders or tactical leaders. The experience that gives America's military its decisive edge must be built long before the first shot is fired.
Yet every year, just as many of our most experienced aviators are ready to lead squadrons, mentor younger pilots and shoulder greater responsibility, too many choose to leave active duty. That should concern every American because this is no longer simply about pilot retention. It is about preserving one of our nation's greatest strategic advantages.
As a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, the wife of a retired Navy fighter pilot who proudly served for two decades, and the representative of Virginia's Second District, home to Naval Air Station Oceana and the East Coast's Master Jet Base, I know this community well. I know what it takes to earn Wings of Gold, the sacrifices military families willingly make, and the extraordinary demands our nation places on those who defend it.
Most fighter pilots don't leave because they've stopped believing in the mission. Too often, they leave because, by the halfway point of a career, years of deployments, relentless operational tempo, missed birthdays and anniversaries, family separation and uncertainty about the future have taken a cumulative toll. They still want to serve. Our challenge is ensuring that a full career in uniform remains a path they can realistically choose.
There is no single reason fighter pilots leave active duty. Compensation matters. So do family stability, aging infrastructure, quality of life and competitive civilian opportunities. Looking at any one of those issues in isolation misses the point. Together, they determine whether an experienced aviator believes the Navy can remain not only a calling, but a career.
The consequences extend far beyond an empty cockpit. Every experienced fighter pilot who leaves takes with them years of judgment, tactical expertise, leadership and operational knowledge that cannot be recreated overnight. Some would become instructors. Others would become department heads, commanding officers, air wing leaders and the mentors responsible for preparing the next generation. We don't just lose another pilot, we lose the leaders who would have developed the pilots behind them.
That is why fighter pilot retention is no longer simply a military personnel issue. It is a strategic imperative.
For nearly four years, I have warned that readiness begins long before an aircraft leaves the runway. That is why I have fought for investments at Naval Air Station Oceana, from replacing aging fuel infrastructure to improving quality of life for service members and their families.
Those efforts were never simply about fixing facilities. They were about strengthening military readiness. We cannot expect America's best fighter pilots to dedicate decades to defending this nation while overlooking the conditions in which they live, work and raise their families.
The good news is that our military is moving in the right direction.
Under President Donald Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth, our armed forces have renewed their focus on the warrior ethos, readiness and winning wars. Combined with the extraordinary work of Navy recruiters across the country, the Navy has exceeded its recruiting goals after several difficult recruiting years. That success proves something important: When America focuses on the right priorities, we can solve hard problems.
Now we must do the same for retention.
Recruiting and retention are different challenges. Recruiting brings exceptional young Americans into uniform. Retention ensures they remain long enough to become the experienced leaders our military depends on.
We cannot recruit our way out of a retention problem.
Recognizing the urgency of this challenge, I fought to include a provision in the House version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Navy to conduct a comprehensive assessment of fighter pilot retention. That assessment is an important first step because we need an honest understanding of why we are losing experienced aviators and where we must improve.
But that assessment cannot become the end of the conversation. It must become the beginning.
We already know many of the pressures our aviators face. We know there is no single solution. Bonuses matter, but they are not enough. Infrastructure matters. Family stability matters. Operational tempo matters. Career flexibility matters. Quality of life matters. None of these challenges exists in a vacuum, and none will be solved in isolation. If we are serious about retaining experienced fighter pilots, we have to be just as serious about rethinking how we support them throughout an entire career.
That will require creativity. It will require challenging assumptions that have existed for decades. It will require Congress, the Department of Defense, Navy leadership, military communities and the American people to recognize that retaining experience is every bit as important as recruiting talent. The same determination that helped reverse the recruiting crisis must now be applied to preserving the experience that makes our military the finest fighting force in the world.
America's competitors understand that our military advantage is measured by more than the number of aircraft on the flight line. It is measured by the experience, judgment and leadership of the men and women who fly them. That experience takes years to build, but it can be lost one retirement, one resignation and one difficult career decision at a time.
We know what is at stake. Now we must come together, with urgency, creativity, and resolve, to ensure that America's best fighter pilots can continue doing what they have always wanted to do: serve their country.
Because America cannot surge experience.
Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., is a U.S. congresswoman representing Virginia's second district. She served for 10 years as a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot.
