Flight Pay for Drone Drivers

[unhappycamper]

Flight Pay for Drone Drivers
Terry Stevens | October 31, 2009

The Air Force decision to give incentive pay to their Unmanned Aerial Vehicle operators certainly makes sense. However, Air Force's announcement that UAV operators would qualify for flight pay has been met with some controversy.

~snip~

Do UAV pilots actually fly UAVs, or just control them electronically? A pilot, for example, is the person in the cockpit of an A-10 Warthog bearing down on a column of Iraq army tanks, while taking direct missile and ground fire.

If you are a "dead" butt in a B-52, F-15, F-16, C-5, C-141 or any other manned weapons system, you are a traditional crewmember. You understand a max load takeoff on a short runway in a rainstorm, a hot landing in an ice storm, SAMs on the way, wind shear, or the concussion of an exploding rocket off your wingtip. It's hard to imagine a UAV operator feeling the rising pucker factor of that type airmanship.

~snip~

While pilots talk with their hands showing how they bank and maneuver the aerospace vehicle they are strapped to, will a UAV systems operator likewise slide his chair and wiggle his joystick?

Will we have to come up with new decorations? For the Distinguished Flying Cross shall we create the Distinguished Sitting Cross for "meritorious activity while under seriously remote hostile fire?"


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,204959,00.html

[ShortnFiery]

1. No, that's just VILE.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

2. Strange Universe that we're living in.

The prospect of being shot down versus the prospect of getting roids and finger calluses doesn't seem to be the same threat level.

I'll have to ask my nephew the next time that I talk to him how he feels about it. Not the same branch, but pilots are pilots. I doubt that he'll be in favor of the idea.

I really hope that he doesn't end up going back to Asia again. He had enough near misses in his previous tours. One of the options for his next assignment is being a pilot for Marine 1. That should be pretty safe although with all of the threats being investigated by the Secret Service, who knows.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Not fair. But they say drone drivers actually see their targets blown to pieces and it's a mindfuck

They see the people they kill getting blown to bits. So, they're having their own problems.

But, no, they're not flightcrew and they're not risking their own necks.

Kind of like how absurd it was that sub skippers got combat awards for interrupting cribbage games to launch tomahawks without threat of retaliation.

[PavePusher]

5. The flight pay is NOT for the mental aspect of combat.

That is part of the risk of being in the military that is shared equally by everyone. As it should be.

Anyone joining the military thinking they will NEVER go in harms way... shouldn't be allowed in.

[LiberalFighter]

4. They should not give them flight pay. They need to call it something else...

so that others know it was for that task and not demean the skills needed to fly a jet.

Those flying should be recognized for that task. And those that use computers to fly unmanned should be recognized for that ability only and not the actual flying.

[PavePusher]

6. X-box Pay? Wii Pay just doesn't seem to have the required... cachet. n/t