National Affairs: Status v. Salary

Last week the War Department announced that only 102 officers had resigned from the Army during the fiscal year ended June 30, fewer than in any other of the past ten years except 1928. At the same time, the Department let it be known that 27 Air Corps officers had resigned—biggest annual depletion in the history of the Corps. And last week the Navy admitted that 13 of its aviators had quit the service in the calendar year 1929. Most of the 40 men thus out of the nation’s air force went to commercial flying jobs paying salaries much higher than the Government can afford.

What the Government does afford an Army Air Corps captain is a minimum basic pay of $2,000, a flying bonus of 50%, and to a single man maintenance of $696 yearly, totaling $3,696. The salary of the Navy’s aviation lieutenants, senior grade (corresponding to the Army captain) is minimum basic pay of $2,400, a flying bonus of 50%, and single maintenance of $939, totaling $4,539. In both services, married men get bigger maintenance, old-timers receive slightly higher salaries. But transport pilots for huge airlines receive as much as $500 a month, equivalent to the remuneration of the Navy’s admirals, the Army’s generals.

Not much disturbed were military air authorities by the rise in resignations. Trained men in commercial aviation make for a potent national military reserve. Also, the Army & Navy know that there will never be a rush from military to civilian life if the U. S. air industry pursues its present policy. After enjoying the social prestige of the service uniform, most flyers will hesitate before changing to a status which commercial operators hope to make comparable—in respectability, responsibility and pay—to that of the bus chauffeur and locomotive engineer.*

*At its last meeting, the American Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers considered, but rejected, a resolution to invite unionized air transport pilots to join their union.