<p>Syftet med denna examensuppsats var att undersöka och beskriva svenska stridspiloters upplevda mentala hälsa. En enkät utformades bestående av ett skattningsbatteri med frågor om sömn och trötthet, OSLO-3, CAGE, HADS, frågor om fysiska symptom, GHQ-12 och SRE. Enkäten skickades ut till 129 JAS 39 piloter i ordinarie tjänst vid flygdivisioner i Försvarsmakten och Förvarets Materielverk (FMV). Resultatet visade att 77% av piloterna i studien bedömdes ha symptom på mild depression och 46% hade symptom på mild ångest. De flesta av de deltagande piloterna hade inte några alkoholrelaterade problem och 83% uppgav att de hade lätta fysiska besvär.</p><p>ANOVA-analysen visade att de deltagande piloterna på utbildningsförbandet i medeltal hade signifikant högre poäng på GHQ-12 än piloterna på insatsförbanden. ANOVA visade också att utbildningsförbandets piloter hade signifikant fler fysiska symptom än utvecklingsförbandens. Pearson-korrelationer mellan bakgrundsfaktorerna och de olika självskattningsdelarna i enkäten samt korrelationer mellan de olika delarna i skattningsformuläret uppvisade relativt svaga samband varav några var signifikanta. </p><p>Slutsatsen är att de svenska stridspiloterna i studien mådde sämre än vad man kunde förvänta sig med tanke på det gedigna uttagnings- och uppföljningsförfarandet. Det kan därför finnas anledning att se över den nu icke anonyma hälsouppföljningen av svenska stridspiloter eftersom den inte bedöms vara tillräcklig för att upptäcka personer med symptom på psykisk ohälsa. Detta är viktigt för att i ett tidigt skede minska och förebygga mental ohälsa inom denna yrkesgrupp, inte bara ur ett flygsäkerhetsperspektiv utan också på grund av att tidiga interventioner ger bättre resultat.</p> / <p>The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the mental health among Swedish fighter pilots. A questionnaire comprising questions concerning sleep and fatigue, OSLO-3, CAGE, HADS, physical symptoms, GHQ-12 and SRE was presented. The questionnaire was distributed to 129 JAS 39 pilots on regular flying duty in the Swedish Air Force and the Swedish Defence Material Administration. The results indicated that 77% of the respondents were found to have mild depression and 46% had symptoms of mild anxiety.</p><p>ANOVA-analysis indicated that the pilots at the training unit on average scored significantly higher on GHQ-12 than the pilots at the fighter squadrons. ANOVA also indicated that the pilots at the training unit had significantly more physical symptoms than the pilots at the development units. Pearson correlations between background factors and the different self-evaluation parts of the questionnaire in addition to correlations between the different parts of the evaluation questionnaire were relatively weak although some of them were significant.</p><p>These findings imply that the Swedish fighter pilots, considering the rigorous selection and evaluation processes, were not as free from mental health problems as expected. Thus there is a reason to revise the follow-up study on the pilots’ mental health. It is important to detect any mental health vulnerability early, not only for maintaining high flight safety standards, but also because of the advantage of implementing early therapeutic intervention.</p>

Syftet med denna examensuppsats var att undersöka och beskriva svenska stridspiloters upplevda mentala hälsa. En enkät utformades bestående av ett skattningsbatteri med frågor om sömn och trötthet, OSLO-3, CAGE, HADS, frågor om fysiska symptom, GHQ-12 och SRE. Enkäten skickades ut till 129 JAS 39 piloter i ordinarie tjänst vid flygdivisioner i Försvarsmakten och Förvarets Materielverk (FMV). Resultatet visade att 77% av piloterna i studien bedömdes ha symptom på mild depression och 46% hade symptom på mild ångest. De flesta av de deltagande piloterna hade inte några alkoholrelaterade problem och 83% uppgav att de hade lätta fysiska besvär. ANOVA-analysen visade att de deltagande piloterna på utbildningsförbandet i medeltal hade signifikant högre poäng på GHQ-12 än piloterna på insatsförbanden. ANOVA visade också att utbildningsförbandets piloter hade signifikant fler fysiska symptom än utvecklingsförbandens. Pearson-korrelationer mellan bakgrundsfaktorerna och de olika självskattningsdelarna i enkäten samt korrelationer mellan de olika delarna i skattningsformuläret uppvisade relativt svaga samband varav några var signifikanta. Slutsatsen är att de svenska stridspiloterna i studien mådde sämre än vad man kunde förvänta sig med tanke på det gedigna uttagnings- och uppföljningsförfarandet. Det kan därför finnas anledning att se över den nu icke anonyma hälsouppföljningen av svenska stridspiloter eftersom den inte bedöms vara tillräcklig för att upptäcka personer med symptom på psykisk ohälsa. Detta är viktigt för att i ett tidigt skede minska och förebygga mental ohälsa inom denna yrkesgrupp, inte bara ur ett flygsäkerhetsperspektiv utan också på grund av att tidiga interventioner ger bättre resultat. / The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the mental health among Swedish fighter pilots. A questionnaire comprising questions concerning sleep and fatigue, OSLO-3, CAGE, HADS, physical symptoms, GHQ-12 and SRE was presented. The questionnaire was distributed to 129 JAS 39 pilots on regular flying duty in the Swedish Air Force and the Swedish Defence Material Administration. The results indicated that 77% of the respondents were found to have mild depression and 46% had symptoms of mild anxiety. ANOVA-analysis indicated that the pilots at the training unit on average scored significantly higher on GHQ-12 than the pilots at the fighter squadrons. ANOVA also indicated that the pilots at the training unit had significantly more physical symptoms than the pilots at the development units. Pearson correlations between background factors and the different self-evaluation parts of the questionnaire in addition to correlations between the different parts of the evaluation questionnaire were relatively weak although some of them were significant. These findings imply that the Swedish fighter pilots, considering the rigorous selection and evaluation processes, were not as free from mental health problems as expected. Thus there is a reason to revise the follow-up study on the pilots’ mental health. It is important to detect any mental health vulnerability early, not only for maintaining high flight safety standards, but also because of the advantage of implementing early therapeutic intervention.

As experienced fighter pilots leave the United States Air Force (USAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), there is a need to develop new competent pilots to meet national defense requirements. Fighter training programs are expensive for taxpayers, and the USAF and RAAF face significant resource problems developing and implementing these programs. Using policy feedback theory and punctuated equilibrium theory as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this comparative, multi-case study of current USAF F-16 and RAAF F-18 fighter pilot training policies was to inform training policy development and efficacy of future USAF and RAAF fighter pilot training programs. Data were gathered from training policy documents and 12 interviews with F-16 and F-18 pilots. Data were deductively coded and analyzed using policy feedback and punctuated event themes. Findings indicate that policy feedbacks and punctuated events influence fighter pilot training policy. Best practices for training include optimum stress management, appropriate academic course timing, and phase-based training techniques. Optimal instructional approaches included a servant leadership philosophy and a need for improved kinesthetic flight preparation tools and procedures. The USAF and RAAF approach fighter pilot training differently. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to the USAF and RAAF that may improve fighter pilot training policy at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayers.

<p>1946 infördes en ny befattning i flygvapnet – Fältflygare. Dessa korttidsanställda piloter utbildades fram till och med 1982, året innan den Nya Befälsordningen infördes i försvarsmakten vilken innefattade alla officerare i en och samma kategori – yrkesofficerare. År 2008 reviderades dock befälsordningen, och sedan dess delas försvarsmaktens officerare in i två kategorier: specialistofficer respektive officer. Blivande stridspiloter rekryteras idag till den senare kategorin och anställs som officerare. Denna uppsats syftar till att belysa de argument som var bidragande till införandet av fältflygare och testa dessas validitet som argument för en applicering av tvåbefälssystemet på flygvapnets piloter idag. Uppsatsen utreder fältflygarsystemets framväxt, utformning, genomförande och avslutande samt jämför förutsättningarna mellan 1946 och 2010 inom områdena säkerhetspolitik, uppgifter samt ekonomi. Dessutom jämförs det svenska flygvapnets personalfördelning med ett antal andra länder. Genom att sätta de funna argumenten i dagens kontext, försöker validiteten av dessa avgöras. Uppsatsen avslutas med en diskussion rörande resultatet samt behovet av framtida forskning inom området. Resultatet i uppsatsen pekar på ett antal huvudsakliga argument för införandet av fältflygarsystemet, vilka samtliga kan härledas till flygvapnets expansiva fas under 30- och 40-talet. Uppsatsen visar att inget av dem är giltigt som ett argument för ett införande av ett tvåbefälssystem för flygvapnets piloter idag. Detta är främst på grund av skillnader mellan 1946 och idag rörande den säkerhetspolitiska situationen samt flygvapnets uppgifter. Det huvudsakliga syftet med fältflygarsystemet, att rekrytera en stor mängd individer till ett flygvapen under uppbyggnad, speglar inte dagens situation. Vidare är försvarsmaktens uppgifter idag betydligt fler än de som fältflygarna utbildades för att lösa: försvar av landet i händelse av krig.</p> / <p>In 1946, the Swedish Air Force (SwAF) introduced a new position open for pilot applicants. These pilots were trained and hired as non-commissioned officers and served in during a limited period of time. Influenced by the British RAF system with short service personnel, this system was in use until 1982. That year, it was decided that the Swedish Armed Forces would consist only of commissioned officers. However, in 2008, the non-commissioned officers were re-introduced into service. Today, the officers of the Armed Forces serve either as non-commissioned officers (“specialistofficerare) or commissioned officers (“officerare”). Aspirants who are applying to figher pilot training within the SwAF go through a three-year-long academic education in order to become commissioned officers. This essay aims to elucidate the key arguments used to introduce the system of non-commissioned fighter pilot officers and to test the validity of these arguments for applying the “new” system of officer ranks/other. The essay investigates the evolution, shaping, implementation and termination of the Fältflygare-system. It also compares 1946 and 2010 on three different aspects: the air force’s economic situation and tasks as well as the security policy-situation of the country. Also, a comparison of how officers are organised is made, between the SwAF and the air force of five other countries. The end of the essay consists of a discussion of the results. The result of the essay shows that none of the previous arguments are valid for implementing a system of non-commissioned fighter pilot officers for the SwAF pilots today. The main reasons for this are major differences in the tasks given to the armed forces and the differences of the security policy-situation. The main purpose of the Fältflygare-system, to recruit and train a large quantity of pilots for an air force that was being developed, does not reflect the situation today. Furthermore, the armed forces and air force today must be ready to solve a wider range of tasks today than before, particularly when it comes to peace keeping and peace enforcement missions. The older system trained for a more specific task - defending the Swedish country’s borders in case of a war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.</p>

1946 infördes en ny befattning i flygvapnet – Fältflygare. Dessa korttidsanställda piloter utbildades fram till och med 1982, året innan den Nya Befälsordningen infördes i försvarsmakten vilken innefattade alla officerare i en och samma kategori – yrkesofficerare. År 2008 reviderades dock befälsordningen, och sedan dess delas försvarsmaktens officerare in i två kategorier: specialistofficer respektive officer. Blivande stridspiloter rekryteras idag till den senare kategorin och anställs som officerare. Denna uppsats syftar till att belysa de argument som var bidragande till införandet av fältflygare och testa dessas validitet som argument för en applicering av tvåbefälssystemet på flygvapnets piloter idag. Uppsatsen utreder fältflygarsystemets framväxt, utformning, genomförande och avslutande samt jämför förutsättningarna mellan 1946 och 2010 inom områdena säkerhetspolitik, uppgifter samt ekonomi. Dessutom jämförs det svenska flygvapnets personalfördelning med ett antal andra länder. Genom att sätta de funna argumenten i dagens kontext, försöker validiteten av dessa avgöras. Uppsatsen avslutas med en diskussion rörande resultatet samt behovet av framtida forskning inom området. Resultatet i uppsatsen pekar på ett antal huvudsakliga argument för införandet av fältflygarsystemet, vilka samtliga kan härledas till flygvapnets expansiva fas under 30- och 40-talet. Uppsatsen visar att inget av dem är giltigt som ett argument för ett införande av ett tvåbefälssystem för flygvapnets piloter idag. Detta är främst på grund av skillnader mellan 1946 och idag rörande den säkerhetspolitiska situationen samt flygvapnets uppgifter. Det huvudsakliga syftet med fältflygarsystemet, att rekrytera en stor mängd individer till ett flygvapen under uppbyggnad, speglar inte dagens situation. Vidare är försvarsmaktens uppgifter idag betydligt fler än de som fältflygarna utbildades för att lösa: försvar av landet i händelse av krig. / In 1946, the Swedish Air Force (SwAF) introduced a new position open for pilot applicants. These pilots were trained and hired as non-commissioned officers and served in during a limited period of time. Influenced by the British RAF system with short service personnel, this system was in use until 1982. That year, it was decided that the Swedish Armed Forces would consist only of commissioned officers. However, in 2008, the non-commissioned officers were re-introduced into service. Today, the officers of the Armed Forces serve either as non-commissioned officers (“specialistofficerare) or commissioned officers (“officerare”). Aspirants who are applying to figher pilot training within the SwAF go through a three-year-long academic education in order to become commissioned officers. This essay aims to elucidate the key arguments used to introduce the system of non-commissioned fighter pilot officers and to test the validity of these arguments for applying the “new” system of officer ranks/other. The essay investigates the evolution, shaping, implementation and termination of the Fältflygare-system. It also compares 1946 and 2010 on three different aspects: the air force’s economic situation and tasks as well as the security policy-situation of the country. Also, a comparison of how officers are organised is made, between the SwAF and the air force of five other countries. The end of the essay consists of a discussion of the results. The result of the essay shows that none of the previous arguments are valid for implementing a system of non-commissioned fighter pilot officers for the SwAF pilots today. The main reasons for this are major differences in the tasks given to the armed forces and the differences of the security policy-situation. The main purpose of the Fältflygare-system, to recruit and train a large quantity of pilots for an air force that was being developed, does not reflect the situation today. Furthermore, the armed forces and air force today must be ready to solve a wider range of tasks today than before, particularly when it comes to peace keeping and peace enforcement missions. The older system trained for a more specific task - defending the Swedish country’s borders in case of a war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

<p>A study of communication content, frequency and problems was performed at the Swedish Air Force Air Combat Simulation Centre, FLSC. The purpose was to investigate the connection between team communication and performance variables, to study communication problems during air combat and to employ and develop the PILOT method of communication problem analysis. Ten fighter pilots and four fighter controllers engaged in simulated air combat beyond visual range in teams on two sides, Blue and Red, with four pilots and one fighter controller each. Eight such training runs lasting 15 to 25 minutes were analyzed with regard to the Blue team’s communication during launch situations, i.e. one minute before launching a missile to either missile impact of failure, and problems during whole runs. The performance of the Blue team was rated by an experienced training instructor in six of the runs. It was hypothesized that positive outcomes would be associated with high communication frequencies but low communication problem rates. Results showed that high utterance frequencies were positively associated with positive global outcomes, i.e. wins, but not associated with high instructor ratings or launching hitting missiles. Incoherent results were found for communication problems. The results were discussed and further research suggested.</p>

<p>This thesis describes the evaluation of a prototype (Illustrator) for future simulator training of Within Visual Range - combat in the Swedish Air Force. The main focus was to collect and transform user acceptance data (expert opinions) to useful guidelines for continued development. Thirteen active fighter pilots participated in the study. The aim was to use expert opinion to study a) the psychological user acceptance, and b) the technical user acceptance, of the Illustrator together with c) gathering opinions for future improvement. Three psychological aspects were rated before and after the sessions to measure psychological user acceptance. For technical user acceptance, seven fidelity levels of the Illustrator were evaluated regarding realism, limitation of performance and importance of realism after the sessions. The sessions consisted of WVR-scenarios. Four different questionnaires were used for data collection. Two fidelity levels showed to diverge from the others in many ways, and were identified as major problems by the participants. No change of the psychological aspects was found between measurements. According to the results of the evaluation, suggestions and guidelines for future development are presented. Finally, issues of interest for future research are proposed.</p>

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Donald J. Mrozek / In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, military aviation technology grew expensive and politically divisive, and this is not without precedent. In the 1960s and 1970s, the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon represented a controversial shift both in the cost of development and in tactical doctrine for the United States Air Force (USAF), yet the motivating factors that influenced their design are not fully understood. Most of the literature either has focused on a teleological exploration of technical evolution or has held to a “genius inventor” paradigm, lionizing individual engineers and planners. Other works have focused on these aircraft as factors that changed the Air Force's tactical approach to warfighting or have simply evaluated their combat performance. Although these approaches are valuable, they do not account for the effect that institutional culture and historical memory had on the F-15 and F-16 programs. This dissertation argues that the culture of the fighter pilot community was based on a constructed memory of World War I fighter combat, idealizing a heroic, romanticized image of “Knights of the Air.” This fighter pilot community attempted to influence the F-15 and F-16 programs to conform to their vision of an idealized past. Furthermore, a smaller group of these pilots, calling themselves the “Fighter Mafia” (and later the “Reformers”) radicalized these ideas, rejecting the Eagle and Falcon as not representative of their ideal vision. Through public and political activism, this group affected the discourse of military technology from the mid-1970s to the present. Drawing on David Nye’s work on the connections between technology and cultural historical narratives and identity, this work will demonstrate that culture and institutional historical memory can be important factors in driving the development of military technology.

This thesis describes the evaluation of a prototype (Illustrator) for future simulator training of Within Visual Range - combat in the Swedish Air Force. The main focus was to collect and transform user acceptance data (expert opinions) to useful guidelines for continued development. Thirteen active fighter pilots participated in the study. The aim was to use expert opinion to study a) the psychological user acceptance, and b) the technical user acceptance, of the Illustrator together with c) gathering opinions for future improvement. Three psychological aspects were rated before and after the sessions to measure psychological user acceptance. For technical user acceptance, seven fidelity levels of the Illustrator were evaluated regarding realism, limitation of performance and importance of realism after the sessions. The sessions consisted of WVR-scenarios. Four different questionnaires were used for data collection. Two fidelity levels showed to diverge from the others in many ways, and were identified as major problems by the participants. No change of the psychological aspects was found between measurements. According to the results of the evaluation, suggestions and guidelines for future development are presented. Finally, issues of interest for future research are proposed.

<p>Författaren till detta arbete har anledning att tro att piloter från olika flygsystem inom Flygvapnet känner olika stor grad av meningsfullhet med det arbete de utför. I detta arbete gör författaren en undersökning där han utifrån ett beteendevetenskapligt perspektiv försöker påvisa sådana skillnader mellan stridspiloter och transportflygpiloter. Samt vilka effekter dessa skillnader i så fall kan innebära för piloternas hälsa och motivation i såväl yrket som i livet i allmänhet. Författaren beskriver utifrån Aaron Antonovskys teori om känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) hur det går att förklara varför vissa människor är bättre rustade än andra för att klara av problematiska situationer eller svåra händelser. Vidare beskriver författaren även vikten av att individer känner en meningsfullhet i det arbete de utför och hur detta kan påverka deras vilja till att stanna kvar i det. Största delen av empirin till arbetet erhåller författaren genom en enkätundersökning bland piloter i Flygvapnet som flyger antingen JAS 39 Gripen eller C-130 Hercules. Resultatet av undersökningen är att författaren inte lyckas påvisa någon skillnad i känsla av sammanhang mellan de båda grupperna. De har utifrån detta resultat således likartade förutsättningar för att hantera motgångar och svåra situationer i livet. Författaren ser vidare en tendens till att transportflygpiloterna uppfattar sitt arbete som något mer meningsfullt än stridspiloterna, särskilt tydligt är detta i åldersintervallet 30-39 år. Författaren lyckas emellertid inte påvisa dessa skillnader som statistiskt signifikanta och utifrån uppmätt meningsfullhet med yrket drar författaren slutsatsen att de båda pilotgrupperna har likartade förutsättningar till att vilja stanna kvar inom sina respektive yrken.</p> / <p>The author of this work has reasons to believe that pilots from different systems within the Swedish air force experiences different degree of meaning with that work they carry out. In this essay the author does a survey where he on the basis of a behavior scientific perspective tries to identify such differences between fighter pilots and transport pilots. He also tries to describe what possible effects these differences, if they exist, could cause for the pilots' health and motivation. The author describes on the basis of Aaron Antonovskys theory about sense of coherence (SOC) how it is possible to explain why some people, better than other, manage to copewith difficult situations or threatening events. Furthermore the author describes the importance of feeling a purpose and meaningfulness with the work the pilots do and how this may affect their willingness to remain in their trade. The author has obtained most of the empirical material through a survey among pilots in the Swedish Air Force, flying either the JAS 39 Gripen or the C-130 Hercules. The result of the study is that the author is not able to detect any differences in sense of coherence (SOC) between the two groups of pilots. Based on this result they therefore seem to have similar abilities to handle adversities and difficult situations in life. The author also sees a tendency that cargo pilots experiences their work as something more meaningful than fighter pilots, this is particularly evident in the age 30-39 years. However, the author does not manage to prove these differences as statistically significant. Based on the study the author therefore draws the conclusionthat neither of the two different groups of pilots is more likely than the other to leave their profession due to lack of meaningfulness with what they are accomplishing.</p>