An Air Force Times report notes the Air Force has fallen behind its efforts to recoup money from people who quit the Air Force Academy during their junior and senior years.  Those who quit any of the military academies after their first two years are obligated to repay the government for their education; their obligation is even formalized in a “commitment” ceremony at the start of their junior year.

More interestingly, however, Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz has said that the Air Force may seek to recoup money from recent graduates as well.  According to the report, as many as 18 new Lieutenants may have washed out of their respective schools, including pilot training.  Rather than train them in a new field, the Air Force has opted to discharge them prior to the completion of their service obligation (the term they agreed to serve to “repay” the government for their commitment).

According to Schwartz, it’s business, not personal:

The junior officers washed out of their initial skills courses, including schools for missile officers and pilots, and the Air Force refused to retrain them.

“Clearly, they took on these obligations voluntarily, and provided that there are no mitigating circumstances, it is not inappropriate to ask, with a reasonable [repayment] schedule, for people to reimburse the taxpayers for the investment that was made,” Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said in an August interview with Air Force Times.

“It is a business proposition, in my view,” he said.