US Air Force Faces Shortage of Fighter Jet Mechanics(翻译)

The United States Air Force has a shortage of mechanics to provide support for its fighter airplanes.
美国空军缺少维护战斗机的机械师。

VOA recently reported that the Air Force has 725 fighter pilots less than the 3,500 it is permitted to have. It is training about 135 more fighter pilots this year than in 2014. But it will be a long time before they are ready for action.
美国之音最近报道称，空军允许维持3500名战斗机飞行员，但是目前缺少了725名。今年空军比2014年多培训了135名战斗机飞行员。但是他们距离做好参与行动的准备还有很长一段时间。

Pilots must train for years -- at a cost of millions of dollars -- before they have enough experience to fly fighter jets.
飞行员必须培训多年并花费数百万美元，才能获得足够经验驾驶战斗机。

The fighter pilot shortage is happening at a time when private airline companies are adding pilots. Private airlines pay more and their pilots spend less time away from home.
战斗机飞行员短缺发生在私营航空公司飞行员队伍不断扩张之际。私营航空公司薪水更高，而且他们的飞行员离家时间更短。

Two Air Force generals told VOA that the military is still able to meet the demands for fighter jet support. But they added that unless more pilots choose a career in the Air Force, the service will soon be unable to meet the demands of top commanders. They warn that this could possibly affect both U.S. troops and civilians.
美国空军两位将军对美国之音表示，军方仍然能够满足战斗机支援的要求。但是他们补充说，除非更多飞行员选择空军这项职业，否则战斗机支援服务很快就无法满足高级指挥官的要求。他们警告说，这可能会影响到美国军队和文职人员。

But even if the Air Force can train and keep jet fighter pilots, it must have enough mechanics to maintain the jets. And right now it has a shortage of more than 3,000 of these maintainers.
但是即使空军可以培训和维持喷气式战斗机飞行员的规模，它还需要足够多机械师来维护喷气式飞机。而现在，空军缺少3000名以上机械师。

Mechanics at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in the state of Virginia have much work to do. They help keep F-22 Raptor jets flying. They also work on the T-38 Talon -- a jet that is about 50 years old and must often be repaired.
弗吉尼亚州兰利-尤斯蒂斯联合基地的维修师的工作负担繁重。他们既要维护F-22猛禽战斗机，还要保养有着大约50年机龄、需要频繁维修的T-38禽爪教练机。

This Air Force fighter pilot says the mechanics work hard.
这名空军战斗机飞行员表示，机械师们工作很努力。

"Maybe once a day to once every other day we'll bring back a jet that needs, has some kind of issue that needs to get fixed by our maintenance before it can get launched back up. So even at night when we're not flying, they're workin' on the planes and making sure that they're ready to go for the next day."
他说，“大概每天或隔一天，我们就要把一架出了某种问题的喷气式飞机送过来，让我们的维修人员修理，然后它才能重新飞上蓝天。所以，即使是晚上我们不飞的时候，他们也在修飞机，好让这些飞机第二天能起飞。”

This senior airman is one of the mechanics.
这位下士是一名机械师。

"We all understand that the whole ‘(do) more with less' is, is happening, but I mean it, regardless, jets have to fly. So we're gonna make it happen, but yeah there's, there's definitely pain in that process."
他说：“我们都明白，目前的情况是事情多了人少了，可是不管怎么样，飞机总得飞。所以，我们必须保证它能飞。不过呢，在此过程中肯定会有痛苦。”

Air Force Lieutenant General John Cooper works on ways to train and keep pilots and mechanics.
空军中将约翰·库珀（John Cooper）忙于培训和维持飞行员及机械师队伍。

"We were livin', you know, on the edge with our maintainers for a long time, but we were able to accomplish the mission."
“我们的维修技师长期处于紧绷的状态，但是我们还是能够完成任务，”

General Cooper says budget cuts have made his job much harder. But he says the Air Force has begun enlisting and training new fighter jet mechanics. And he says if the budget does not get smaller, the shortage will end in 2021.
库珀中将表示预算削减使得他的工作更加困难。但他表示，空军已经开始招募和培训新的战斗机机械师。他还表示，如果预算不减少的话，这种短缺将在2021年结束。