LANGLEY AFB, Va. — When Air Force F-15 pilot Maj. Matt Rosol walked away from his aircraft after his last active duty flight, his leg dragged. Fearing a medical problem, Rosol immediately asked for help.

“Can’t,” said crew chief Staff Sgt. Chris Hosler. “You’ve been clamped.”

Rosol looked down to find a parking boot — a device originally built to disable ticketed cars from being driven away — clamped to his leg. As he limped around in circles, his plan for a career as a civilian airline transport pilot seemed grounded. But he is merely part of a larger Air Force readiness problem.

Pilot retention has nosedived in recent years. Reasons for that include a high deployment rate, the state of the crazy, mixed-up, formerly-beloved Air Force Academy, and the fact that every single flying squadron commander was fired in 2017 for poking subordinates while taking Fat Leonard-sized bribes.