Last year, the Canadian air force sought to recruit 184 new pilots. They only got 48. There are about 1,500 pilots in the Canadian armed forces, and about a hundred retire or quit each year. There were no problem recruiting in the past. No one knows exactly why there were so few recruits last year. The best guess is that all the bad publicity (old and obsolete equipment, lots of peacekeeping and criticism for non-PC behavior) the Canadian armed forces have been getting of late has had a cumulative effect. A promotional campaign is being put together to get the word out that openings are available. No waiting. Prior service pilots accepted (especially with so many airline pilots out of work since September 11, 2001.)