Senior officials from the Department of Military-Political Leadership in the Workers’ Party of Korea recently visited the Air Force Command to discuss helicopter pilot training and better service conditions, Daily NK has learned.
“The party’s Department of Military-Political Leadership held a discussion on Aug. 4 at the Air Force Command headquarters to carry out orders given by our Comrade the Commander in Chief (Kim Jong Un) to strengthen the fighting strength of our helicopter units and pilot cohort,” a source inside the North Korean military told Daily NK recently, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The discussion was prompted by orders given by Kim on Aug. 2 during a motivational speech he delivered while visiting a helicopter unit in the air force that had been tasked with rescuing flood victims, the source explained.
According to the source, the discussion was attended by veteran helicopter pilots and commanders of helicopter units under the Air Force Command. Matters discussed included the difficulty of training a professional corps of helicopter pilots when few people were assigned to the job and the fact that helicopter pilots’ rations and housing were much worse than those of fighter pilots.
During the discussion, the Department of Military-Political Leadership stressed that the Air Force Command’s manpower training department would double placements for helicopter pilots in the second half of this year and that helicopter pilots, after completing training, would be given better rations and housing priority to help them settle comfortably in their assigned air force units.
Most importantly, the department promised to review the technical question of reducing the rations gap between fighter pilots and helicopter pilots in air force units to achieve a marked improvement in helicopter pilots’ treatment.
“At the moment, there’s a serious gap in ration levels between helicopter pilots and fighter pilots — helicopter pilots are only on the level of fighter maintenance workers,” the source said.
The Department of Military-Political Leadership also ordered the Air Force Command to focus on units’ retraining capabilities to ensure the next wave of helicopter pilots receives professional training.
“Department officials held a separate meeting with unit commanders and long-serving helicopter pilots to discuss their work and living conditions. In that meeting, department officials promised to strengthen the helicopter unit and substantially improve pilots’ treatment in line with orders from the commander in chief following the unit’s successful relief work during the flood,” the source said.
The family members of service members in the helicopter unit are reportedly saying that “helicopter pilots hadn’t gotten as much respect as fighter pilots, but that attitude is changing.”
“The Air Force Command wants to devote more time to simulated rescue operations in helicopter units’ planned summer and winter exercises starting this year, and it’s discussing that issue with the combat training bureau at the General Staff Department,” the source said.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
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August 12, 2024 at 05:32AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)