BostonCharlie
10th August 2011, 12:14
How the brave heroic amerikan joystick warriors do their dirty deeds to the people of Afghanistan/Pakistan.
After drone pilots engage the enemyafter they put a missile on a targettheir aircraft do something that is historically odd: they hover, inertly. Manned fighter planes make a lethal pass or two and then turn around; ground troops kill the enemy and secure territory or engage and retreat. Drones just stay there, aloft: their streaming images remain valuable.
The virtual pilots, meanwhile, stay seated in the conditioned air of their Nevada trailers, observing people and buildings and cars exploding and burning. They may see their victims disintegrate, bleed, burn, writhe, die. The military says that hellfire missiles fired by drones cause very few civilian casualties, but it happens: drone pilots may watch their missiles kill children. They may also see U.S. soldiers getting hurt or dying. They cant help; they cant turn away. The action in their offices is internal: chemical changes in bloodstreams, elements of future nightmares collecting themselves.
After combat, fighter pilots and infantry soldiers go back to their bases. They remain in the region of the killing, surrounded by the people who have done it with them. Drone operators close the trailer door and drive home.
http://trueslant.com/jefftietz/2009/04/16/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-drone-pilot/
After drone pilots engage the enemyafter they put a missile on a targettheir aircraft do something that is historically odd: they hover, inertly. Manned fighter planes make a lethal pass or two and then turn around; ground troops kill the enemy and secure territory or engage and retreat. Drones just stay there, aloft: their streaming images remain valuable.
The virtual pilots, meanwhile, stay seated in the conditioned air of their Nevada trailers, observing people and buildings and cars exploding and burning. They may see their victims disintegrate, bleed, burn, writhe, die. The military says that hellfire missiles fired by drones cause very few civilian casualties, but it happens: drone pilots may watch their missiles kill children. They may also see U.S. soldiers getting hurt or dying. They cant help; they cant turn away. The action in their offices is internal: chemical changes in bloodstreams, elements of future nightmares collecting themselves.
After combat, fighter pilots and infantry soldiers go back to their bases. They remain in the region of the killing, surrounded by the people who have done it with them. Drone operators close the trailer door and drive home.
http://trueslant.com/jefftietz/2009/04/16/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-drone-pilot/