What You Need to Know: The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is experiencing a shortage of pilots for its growing fleet of aircraft carriers, prompting a significant change in recruitment policies.
-China is now allowing candidates who have undergone vision correction surgeries to become pilots for carrier-based aircraft, a practice previously disqualifying.
-The PLAN is also expanding its candidate pool by targeting high school graduates and college students with bachelor's or master's degrees. Facing a broader recruitment challenge, China is considering compulsory military training in universities and introducing "national defense education" in high schools.
-These efforts aim to attract more technically skilled youth amid declining interest in military service.
The United States Air Force has struggled in recent years to recruit and retain pilots, and the service has addressed the issue by increasing retention bonuses. The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is also facing a shortage, notably of pilots to operate its carrier-based aircraft.
Beijing has rapidly expanded its aircraft carrier operations, having gone from zero carriers just over a dozen years ago to now carrying out sea trials for its third – and second domestically built – flattop. Such quick expansion has meant that the PLAN needs aviators, but unlike the U.S. Air Force (and other branches of the U.S. military), the Chinese service doesn't throw money at the problem.
Instead, the Chinese sea service has looked to lower the bar in ways that other nations might not.
This included loosening "the criteria for recruiting pilots for carrier-based aircraft by including young candidates who have received vision correction surgeries," the Chinese state media Global Times reported earlier this week.
In addition, the PLAN is seeking pilots for its carrier-based aircraft program who hold a high school diploma, along with "fresh graduates with bachelor or master degrees."
The U.S. Air Force has allowed LASIK since 2007 and PRK for pilots since the late 1990s, but each has required waivers. Vision correction surgeries had remained a disqualifier for pilot training in the Chinese military, but those who have undergone the procedures are now eligible for recruitment.
The People's Liberation Army – much like the U.S. military – is now facing a serious recruitment problem as fewer young people are signing up for service.
Despite being a one-party state, the PLA is still largely a volunteer military, although formal conscription via a draft system began in the 1950s, drawing conscripts from rural parts of the country. Since its founding before the Chinese Civil War, the PLA has largely been able to fill its ranks; even as its force consists of more than two million service members.
Its recruitment efforts have been failing to meet the annual goals.
However, while the U.S. has continued to lower its standards, including accepting recruits who haven't finished high school, this year Beijing has attempted to refocus its recruitment on college students, including those who are bilingual. The age cap was also increased, and recruitment has included college graduates to help attract those with increasingly needed technical skills.
It isn't clear if the efforts will pay off, and like in the U.S., the top graduates are likely to look to more lucrative jobs in the private sector.
Earlier this year, the National People's Congress announced that it was considering changes to the law that include expanding compulsory military training at the nation's universities. At the same time "national defense education" would be implemented in high schools.
"Under the planned amendments, high schools will also be obliged to teach children about military service, and create an atmosphere in which military service is seen as 'glorious,'" reported Radio Free Asia, citing Chinese state media.
The RFA report added, "China already requires graduates in fluid mechanics, machinery, chemistry, missile technology, radar, science and engineering, weapons science and other technical disciplines to join the People's Liberation Army."
It would now appear that Beijing will further expand its recruitment efforts while adding training in its schools. It could bolster its numbers, but whether the PLA will remain a true "professional" fighting force has yet to be seen.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
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