Remote-control warriors suffer war stress?

 Recently a good friend of mine brought an article claming that remote-control aircraft operators are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to my attention.  This article, according to my friend, is completely out of line and bogus, and this person wanted the world to know what they feel without fear of recrimination, so I told them that I’d use my blog to give them a voice.

So read this article  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26078087/ and then read the words of my friend, a career military member, and patriot below.

First, let’s keep this in perspective… Predator “pilots” and Sensor Operators (SOs) do not conduct their business individually 24/7. They work 4 to 5 days a week, like regular folks, assuming 8-10 hour shifts spending approx 4-6 hours ‘in the seat’ at a stretch. The remainder of that shift is spent on administrative duties, ancillary training, required meetings, and other ‘aircrew’ training. AND, they do get to go home after their duty day, AND they do get to attend family functions as their schedule allows. Is there such a thing as PTSD?..Absolutely. However, having been an Intel professional for over 20 years, and having worked Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions spanning every war and limited conflict since Desert Storm across a multitude of airborne and overhead platforms providing still imagery as well as full motion video collection and analysis in a forward capacity as well as a reach-back environment, I maintain that these PTSD claims from these ‘Remote Control Warriors’ are complete bull$#!t!! Mr. Lindlaw, this is a fine piece of satire. Keeping this in perspective, and using a compare and contrast model, readers need to examine the article with circumspect. Our AF TAC-Ps and Army JTACs, who are the consumers of the Pred video, don’t operate in air-conditioned trailers, they work in the environment’s extremes- ridiculously hot in the spring/summer/fall months, cold in the winter months, enduring the relative frequency of dust storms and rain. Yes, rain. And when it rains, it’s Texas rain that drops large amounts in a short period of time. Rain that raises the desert sand into inescapable mud that adds 5 pounds to each boot when stepped in. Nor do they have the luxury of dinners with spouses and kid’s soccer games at the end of the day, unless the former can be attached to having an MRE while sitting in the shade outside of your patrol vehicle, or hustling through the DFAC where the sign on the door reads “No Weapon-No Food.” The latter can be enjoyed when it is in the form of casual observation of a group of local national kids playing soccer in a vacant lot while out on patrol. And, killing people from 7000 miles away with computer keystrokes requires far less mental toughness than the tactical interview and taking of lives at close range. I maintain that, if these ‘Warriors’ don’t have the mental capacity to support our fielded forces while also enjoying all of the luxuries and amenities of life here at home, they lack the capacity to watch any PG-13 movie or complete their Self Aid and Buddy Care training that graphically shows open wounds, burns, and a popped-out eyeball. The high-resolution detail cited in the article is an embellishment. This whiplash transition is crap. Ask a Pred “pilot” when the last time was, and with what frequency he/she shoots a missile. Rest assured, on the occasion these ‘warriors’ pickle a weapon, the subsequent splash is met with high-fives and hell-yeahs that can be heard outside of their air-conditioned trailers from all members of the crew. Elation over the wholesale termination of bastards who desperately deserve it is what Predator crews and their supported customer(s) have in common. When they complain about their 24/7 operations, keep in mind the schedule they keep, referenced in the first few sentences. By comparison, those ISR consumers run an operation, are out on patrol, or are conducting weapons cleaning and inspections that provide for 3-6 hours of sleep before they are required to report for the next patrol/operation, often on an ad hoc basis where they are hustled out of the rack because they need to respond to a target of opportunity. Pred crews observe a duty day that does not exceed 12 hours and cannot exceed a certain total number of hours over the course of a month. They enjoy ‘crew-rest’, which requires that within that 12-hour period between missions they are provided the opportunity for 8 hours of sleep. Further, these “pilots” and SOs don’t validate their own targets or own the weapons they employ. Those functions/responsibilities reside with Intel professionals and TAC-P/JTAC, respectively. There is no BOOM! when Predator crews shoot a missile, or ‘potentially’ shoot a missile, for that matter. All they hear is the hum of their air conditioners. There are very few Intel qualified personnel working in the 196^th RS. Most are former boom operators and aircraft maintainers held over from their days of flying refueling missions on KC-135/KC-10s. The armchair psychology taking place at March Air Reserve Base paints themselves, the community, and the Air Force like a bunch of pampered candy-asses. Thank you, Col Greg Davies for not allowing the entire Predator community to be painted with the same brush. I’ll be shaking your hand at WEPTAC. With a new CSAF, an increase in the demand for ISR and the emerging capabilities to satisfy that demand, we need personnel who have the moxie to provide support, especially from home station. If you predator crews whose foot fits in the shoe fashioned in the article can’t take the service in that direction, the please, for the love of God, country, and fellow servicemen, ETS as soon as possible, or go back to flying the gas-passer. Save the money spent on transition assistance and disability for those real warriors thrust back into society after doing the mission, not just supporting the mission from afar as they nervously walk thru a crowd at the fair or in a shopping mall, whose heads are still on a swivel in traffic, or who can scarcely enjoy a 4^th of July fireworks display.