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-Short Attention Span Theater-
USAF drone pilots in mass burn out, robo-flights canceled
2015-06-20
The US Air Force has reduced the number of drones it keeps in the air because their stressed-out pilots are quitting in large numbers.
Ummm... Really? Those who've met me in person have commented on my handsome set of antennae, which pop right up at the scent of bullshit. (And also Brut by Faberge, but that's another story.)
In February, the Air Force said it was planning to increase the number of daily drone flights over the Middle East and Asia to 65 a day, possibly rising to 70 a day dependent on need. But Colonel James Cluff, the commander of the Air Force's 432nd Wing, told The New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
 on Wednesday that this would be cut to 60 because of remote-controller burnout.
Allow me to express my strong sense of disbelief. If there are cutbacks it's not because of pilot "burnout," unless they've been recruiting extraordinarily large numbers of pilots for their political opinions and/or skin color and/or sexual preferences. I suppose that's possible. Even then there are administrative actions that could be taken: shorten shifts, shorten tour lengths, pull pilots from other sources (that would certainly torque up the guys currently in place.)
"Having our folks make that mental shift every day, driving into the gate and thinking, 'All right, I've got my war face on, and I'm going to the fight,' and then driving out of the gate and stopping at Walmart to pick up a carton of milk or going to the soccer game on the way home -- and the fact that you can't talk about most of what you do at home -- all those stressors together are what is putting pressure on the family, putting pressure on the airman," Colonel Cluff said.
Gee. Golly. Shucks. And all the rest of us had to worry about was artillery.
Drone pilots, who control their aircraft from afar, are not posted to dusty deserts nor frigid mountaintop air bases, but they are worked much harder as a result. The typical aircraft pilot will fly about 300 hours a year but drone operators work 12-hour shifts five or six days a week.
Sounds like they're understaffed. When I was flying in Vietnam (crew, not pilot) we put in between 100 and 150 hours a month, usually. My first month in the unit I flew about 300 hours, but that wasn't typical; I was the only guy with my skills they had yet. Two more guys came in the next month and the hours dropped to more manageable levels.
Posted by:Anguper Hupomosing9418

#10  Frozen A, by the end of the war so did the Marines. My Uncle Jim, China, Iceland, Midway, Guadualcanal, New Britain, Palau all with 1st Marine Air Wing, found him at the end of the war learning to fly Corsairs. That program ended, back in the Fleet Marine Force and back to China. He carried a grudge about the timing. My Dad didn't tho. :)

So here I damn am and he will be over for breakfast tomorrow. 4th Division, 4 assault landings, and preparing for Operation Olympic, the assault on Kyushu.
Posted by: Shipman   2015-06-20 16:13  

#9  Cops and Firemen walk into their locker rooms everyday not knowing if they are going to go home in one piece, yet they make it to Walmart and the kids soccer games. And most do it for 30 years.
Posted by: One Eyed Borgia2590   2015-06-20 15:09  

#8  Two points:
1) Before and during WWII, the US had a rank called Flying Officer. They were WO, and not normally promoted. The USAF could recreate the category.
2) "driving out of the gate and stopping at Walmart to pick up a carton of milk or going to the soccer game on the way home."

What the hell do you think it was like for flyers in England during WWII? Don't you think it was jarring to go from the sky over Germany to dating your girl at the pub? This Colonel Cluff must have a degree from the Fluffy Ducks Institute of Psycho-babble.

Al
Posted by: frozen al   2015-06-20 12:46  

#7  Army has a whole pile of damned good drone operators, and no issues with "burnout". But they are mostly enlisted, and warrant officers. Get a clue USAF
Posted by: OldSpook   2015-06-20 11:28  

#6  "Fighter Mafia" effect.

Maybe we can outsource this to the Chinese as well. (do I need to put a /sarc on that too?)
Posted by: Procopius2k   2015-06-20 08:38  

#5  ...Some truth here, along with a whole buncha BS.

*The zipper-suited Sun Gods who still run the USAF look down on the drone drivers as not even being in the same species as they are, let alone the same job. The current hierarchy is as follows: Fighters, Attack, Bombers, Transport, and Helo...and one joke I've heard a couple times is that the Drones were created to give the Helo drivers someone to look down on. Either way, the USAF leadership despises the drone drivers...and given that attitude, I'm almost wondering if there isn't now (as suggested by AH9418) a quiet, concerted effort to get rid of the drones and blame it on (FILL IN THE BLANK).

*The USAF doesn't just dislike the idea of flying NCOs, it loathes it the way the Devil loathes Holy Water. A moral and emotional edifice rivaling Mount Rushmore would come crashing down if a single NCO ever got wings - specialized/restricted wings or anything else.

*Drone pilots leaving means we cut back the mission? Aw, HELL no. If it's combat, then you find a way. I'd point this out - 70 sorties a day means between 70 to 140 operators, and there's currently TWELVE HUNDRED in the USAF. Even if you lost fifty percent of that number, that's still six hundred operators available every day. Even at 140 operators required, that means somebody flies a mission every 4.28 days...and if it means somebody has to get out from behind their desk and 'I-Love-Me' wall, then by God you do it. Some simple scheduling work will take care of the rest, and if it means you're on (for instance) two weeks at a crack, flying every other day and then off two weeks, you're still good.

*Truth is spoken about the fact that these guys see their work in far more detail than any other combat pilot has ever seen before, and this is something that has yet to be addressed - and better be, PDQ. The B-52 driver at 40K feet neither sees nor hears the result of his efforts, except in sterile post-strike pictures. The F-15/F-16/A-10 drivers see their work in quick, almost incomprehensible flashes more like scenes from a video game. Drone pilots see it very up close and personal, and if they make a mistake they're far more likely to see it happen and have to watch the results.

It's hard for me to escape the conclusion that the USAF knows there's a problem, but simply and categorically refuses to do what's needed to fix it and/or doesn't want to fix it in the hope that the problem tasking will go away. Either way, I weep for what's become of My Beloved Service.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2015-06-20 08:35  

#4  I would guess the number of possible recruits who would make good drone pilots is rather large. I suspect the USAF is not looking in that direction, but more likely wants business as usual.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418    2015-06-20 08:30  

#3  There have to be hundreds of thousands of 'gamers' out there who could operate drones quite skillfully. Now whether they could follow orders.....
Posted by: Glenmore   2015-06-20 00:38  

#2  Air Force also dislikes the idea of Warrant Officers or Flight Sergeants. A drone pilot doesn't have to be fighter or even transport qualified.
Posted by: tipover   2015-06-20 00:38  

#1  I used to want to be a Navy fighter pilot. Then it turned out that they wanted people with perfect vision. Since I'm about 20/200 uncorrected, I didn't have a chance. (I also don't have the macho jock personality that a lot of fighter jocks have.)

I realize that the drone pilots need to be trained as pilots so that they understand the flight physics, navigation, etc. However, the physical requirements should be much less.

I could be a drone pilot. Maybe I could get the Navy to call me out of retirement.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2015-06-20 00:30  

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