Carah Goldoust Blog Post #3

             I found the concept of PTSD pertaining specifically to drone operators very interesting. focused on the NPR piece by Rachel Martin, Report: High Levels of ‘Burnout’ In U.S. Drone Pilots as well as the Daily Mail piece by Helen Pow, ‘Did we just kill a kid?’ Drone warfare is a very new concept and a great display of the advances that our military technology has faced in just recent years. Since it is a new kind of warfare, there are new factors that will affect the soldiers that are manning these drones. The idea of “remote control” warfare sounds very bittersweet. It is worrisome that a war could be conducted at the tip of one’s fingers, literally, but at the same time does mean that less of our troops are directly in harm’s way. However, as I am focusing on the PTSD that these drone operators are facing. It seems that although it is a very advanced method of warfare, one that is safer for our troops, it still greatly affects the soldiers behind the “remote control.”

It’s a different struggle for a soldier to face when they are killing by simply hitting a button while sitting in a room full of computers. The story of Brandon Bryant is only what I would imagine one example of the mental toll these drone operators face after conducing their missions. Bryant was 27 years old and actually operated drones (with the Air Force) for 6 whole years. Bryant quit after he ended up killing a child but the mental distress began right after his first kill. As the article says, “the first time he fired a missile, he killed two men instantly and cried on his way home.” Bryant says that he felt “disconnected from humanity for almost a week.” I was surprised to learn that his immediate distress lasted only about a week, but his time as a drone operator took a toll on his life overall. I was especially interested to read that Bryant eventually went back to manning drones after he faced his own version of a breakdown. Although he is now out of the military, his role as a drone operator had almost the same PTSD effect of a soldier that had boots on the ground and faced the same tragedies but in person.

As Professor Shirk mentioned, only about 4% are diagnosed with PTSD but that is still not an ideal amount. Operating drones is an exhausting job both mentally and physically. As the NPR article mentions, the Pentagon has determined that about 30% of drone operators suffer a term called ‘burnout’ which just means they are burned out as well as facing high levels of fatigue. It is interesting that the Air Force does not consider this a “dangerous level of stress” as it can clearly lead to larger problems later on. The study does go on to mention that “17% of active duty drone pilots surveyed are thought to be ‘clinically distressed’… this means the pilots’ stress level has crossed a threshold where it’s now affecting pilots’ work and family.” The article mentions that many of these pilots say they are not receiving the proper help for this stress, which is extremely worrisome. It is a new kind of warfare and technology, so it would be assumed the proper help would be provided for a new type of military warfare. Although these soldiers are not “boots on the ground” they still need the counseling as well. There is absolutely no room for this stress to affect their work because so many lives are at stake as just the tips of their fingers. It is unsettling that the PTSD almost seems inevitable with the seemingly lack of mental support for these soldiers.