A recent Department of Defense Inspector General (DOD IG) report warns that “military readiness” is being negatively impacted as issues like salary disparity and poor classification standards have resulted in the inability to hire and retain military air traffic controllers (ATCs).
The report, published July 17, conveys not just a staffing shortage but broader concerns revolving around DOD’s methods for classifying, compensating and managing civilian air traffic controllers, which have been described as outdated and inconsistent.
The IG found that shortages of civilian air traffic controllers are reducing ATC services, limiting operating hours, decreasing pilot training opportunities and delaying overseas operations, tying staffing directly to national defense priorities.
Arguably the biggest concern causing such disparities is compensation. The report cites RAND research showing that DOD controllers earn substantially less than FAA controllers, making recruitment and retention extremely difficult.
The report states that the average FAA average compensation is approximately $161,000 while average DOD compensation is approximately $113,000. That represents a 43% pay gap, which may provide further insight into why roughly 35% of Air Force
controller departures leave for FAA positions.
Not Adapting to the Times
Aside from the salary impact and its role on military readiness, the IG report emphasizes that the classification standard has not been updated in nearly 50 years.
And that is despite enormous changes across the U.S. Armed Forces in terms of military aviation, aircraft technology, unmanned aircraft, airspace complexity, workload and mission requirements. The report says the current standard no longer reflects today’s operational environment.
One factor is due to how each service differently determines classifications, with the 32-page report noting that no single DOD organization is responsible for ensuring consistency, allowing different interpretations of the same classification guidance across the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.
Another contributing factor to the grade level determination” is the services’ “inconsistent use” of ATC subject matter experts in the classification process.
While specialists from the aforementioned services, in their March 2022 draft update to the 1978 classification standard, proposed a requirement for subject matter experts to validate classification standards for every position within an ATC facility, Air Force, Army and Navy officials later said their classification processes don’t specifically involve subject matter experts determining grade levels.
That has led to some of the inconsistencies highlighted throughout the report, according to the IG, and puts the pressure on DOD to provide better oversight.
However, all these conveyed concerns are not new or unique. The report states that services jointly requested revisions in 2022, with a follow-up attempt in 2023. By 2025, updating classification standards remained a top priority.
But workload constraints and other factors delayed any such implementation.
Impact on Recruitment and Retention
While the DOD has touted its service enlistment numbers, the report heeds caution regarding future recruitment and ongoing retention of military personnel.
The report mentions current vacancies in connection with upcoming retirement eligibility. The Air Force, for example, reported that it has 734 positions filled of a potential total of 913 authorized positions—equating to 179 vacancies, or roughly a 20% gap. There are also 51 controllers already eligible for retirement.
The implication is that staffing shortages may continue to grow without systemic changes.
There are myriad potential drawbacks to all of this, per the report, including possible operational effects like reduced airfield operating hours and reduced airspace availability, closure of critical safety functions, delayed pilot production, delayed training, risks to aircraft maintenance operations, and overseas mission delays.
All that’s to say, the issue is in the hands of DOD, the services themselves, and Congress.
The report’s guidance recommends that legislative changes be considered to improve recruiting and retention, in addition to updating
the 1978 classification standard with the Office of Personnel Management.
Uniform guidance across all services could also lead to positive change, coupled with the assigning of a central organization to oversee ATC classification decisions.
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