system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why is every US Air Force pilot required to be an officer?

Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is:  What's the reasoning behind the decision that enlistees aren't allowed to be combat pilots?

EDIT:  My point of confusion is that enlistees are trusted to operate tanks, which seem to be quite similar: both tanks and jets are expensive and dangerous.  Why are enlistees trusted with tanks but not jets?
gpt
There are 4 people in a tank, and each of them is only doing a part of the job. They can be trained easily. For example most people could be drivers or loaders with little training.

The pilot flies the plane alone. And flying the plane is fundamentally different that what you do on land. Pilot training takes much much longer, as it is much more complex. Being a pilot must be a career, they cannot afford to train you for 4 years, and then let you pilot a plane for 1 year or so before your enlistment expires.