Modeling the departure of military pilots from the service

High numbers of voluntary departures from the services by military pilots have caused considerable concern among military administrators and policymakers, both recently and in previous periods of high attrition. The authors explore some determinants of the fixed-wing (airplane) pilot attrition problem among male pilots in the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, and the responsiveness of attrition to changes in military compensation. They present a pilot attrition model that examines the impact on attrition from factors such as compensation, civilian airline hiring, and deployment.