Bachelor´s thesis on the flight from the Air Force published in a research journal

More and more fighter pilots are resigning from their service in the Armed Forces to devote themselves to other activities. A bachelor's thesis from Luleå University of Technology shows that low salaries and bad pension agreements are important reasons why pilots choose to resign. But the lack of local career opportunities, family time, administrative support, long-term career planning, developing tasks and the possibility of studies can also influence the decision.

The bachelor's essay has been published in the research journal Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies.

- It is extremely rare that a master's thesis leads to publication in a research journal, this were two ambitious and talented students with an exciting choice of subject, says Johan Sandström, professor of business administration and supervisor of the thesis.

The bachelor's essay was written within the framework of a commissioned training in scientific method and independent work that Luleå University of Technology provides to employees of the Armed Forces, which gives them eligibility for the Senior Officer Program at the Swedish Defence University. The author of the essay is Major Sophie Bosdotter, with a background in the Army and as deputy military adviser at Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations in New York, and Major Tommy Wellborg, fighter pilot at F21 in Luleå since 2006.

The essay's empirical material consists of a survey carried out by the Air Force in 2021 in which a total of 233 fighter pilots answered questions about what could make them resign and what is required for them to stay. As a complement to the survey, Sophie Bosdotter and Tommy Wellborg conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of 15 fighter pilots who had left the Air Force and the Armed Forces for civilian jobs or studies.

- We had an unusual amount of material to work with for a bachelor's essay. The survey material itself had already been collected, but we were the ones who did the analysis. Doing the interviews was both fun and educational. I really enjoy my job in the Armed Forces, but it was interesting to get other people's perspectives on how their situation and experience of the employer made them change careers, says Tommy Wellborg.

Inspiration from Top Gun

Based on the material, they developed different ideal types named after characters in the 80s film Top Gun: Iceman – the competitive and performance-oriented, Charlie – focused on personal development, Goose – the family-oriented, Viper – the experienced pilot who teaches his younger colleagues .

The essay authors emphasize that these are ideal types. No real person can be attributed to a certain type. Everyone has more or less of the different qualities in them, and in addition, the dominant driving force can vary over time depending on where you are in life. Rather than testing a hypothesis, the essay uses different interpretation perspectives to describe reality. It was a methodological approach that felt unfamiliar to both the essay writers and the other students who gave them a lot of criticism in the opposition of the essay.

- I think that Johan understood better than we did what kind of essay we had written. We were lucky to have Johan as a supervisor. He was able to pick up our idea and gave us support that made us dare to think a little more freely, says Sophie Bosdotter.

One of the results that surprised her was that, although salary and pension were important, many people placed a lot of emphasis on "soft values".

- Many cited too little time with family, the compulsion to move within the service and the lack of development opportunities as reasons why they had resigned. It shows that the Air Force must adapt to modern social conditions where a family consists of two gainfully employed parents who feel an equal responsibility for the children.

A highly topical topic

Tommy Wellborg thinks it was exciting to write about such a highly topical subject. The fact that fighter pilots are leaving the Air Force has attracted attention both internally within the Armed Forces and externally in the media.

- We did not start the debate, but we highlighted what was about to happen. Since we wrote our paper, the problem has escalated. One may ask why the Swedish Armed Forces have been so slow to react.

They think that the training was a good foundation to stand on for the current studies at the Swedish Defense University.

- As a future manager within the Armed Forces, it has been important for me to get an insight into the employees' perspective on the work environment. The essay has made me better at writing academically and thanks to the whole process of peer review to get the article accepted in the Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, we got a chance to improve it, says Tommy Wellborg.'

• Why Fighter Pilots are Leaving the Swedish Armed Forces – and how to Retain them External link, opens in new window.