US Air Force lacks volunteers for Drone/UAV operator duty (Defense News article)

[CougarKing]

I would have thought there would have been enough officers and enlisted airmen signing up for such duty at Creech AFB...

Defense News link

US Air Force Lacks Volunteers To Operate Drones

WASHINGTON — The US Air Force is unable to keep up with a growing demand for pilots capable of operating drones, partly due to a shortage of volunteers, according to a new study.

Despite the importance placed on the burgeoning robotic fleet, drone operators face a lack of opportunities for promotion to higher ranks, and the military has failed to identify and cultivate this new category of aviators, Air Force Col. Bradley Hoagland wrote in the report published for the Brookings Institution think tank.

In 2012, the Air Force had a goal to train 1,129 “traditional” pilots and 150 drone pilots to operate Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk robotic aircraft.

But the Air Force “was not able to meet its RPA (remotely piloted aircraft) training requirements since there were not enough volunteers,” the report said.

As of last year, the Air Force had 1,300 drone pilots, making up about 8.5 percent of the force’s aviators, compared with 3.3 percent four years earlier.

The fleet of unmanned aircraft includes 152 Predators, 96 Reapers and 23 Global Hawks, which is large enough to fly 61 combat air patrols.

The military measures air power in terms of combat air patrols, or CAPs, which are supposed to provide 24-hour air coverage over a designated area. It typically takes three or four drones to make up a combat air patrol.

But goals for expanding the patrols are increasing “at a faster pace than the AF (Air Force) can train personnel to operate these systems,” the study said.

One of the factors behind the shortfall is a high rate of attrition among drone operators, which is three times higher than for traditional pilots, it said.

Another factor is the intense tempo of operations for drone missions over the past decade.

The constant drone flights mean operators, unlike their counterparts in other specialities, lack the time for additional education and training to attain a higher rank, undercutting their career prospects, the author wrote.

The problem is reflected in a 13 percent lower promotion rate to the rank of major over the past five years, compared to other military fields.

The lower number of promotions is also fed by a military culture that still does not fully appreciate the skills of drone pilots, Hoagland said.

“One of the controversies surrounding their historical lack of high level recognition is the viewpoint that RPA pilots were not risking their lives while operating their aircraft 7,000 miles away in Nevada,” he wrote.

In a bid to give them more recognition, the Pentagon in February created a new “Distinguished Warfare Medal” for pilots of drones or digital specialists who affect the battle at a remote distance.

But two months later, in the face of an outcry from veterans groups, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel scrapped the medal, which had been placed relatively high in the hierarchy of military honors.

Instead, a device will be attached to existing medals to recognize the new-era warriors.

 

[dimsum]

This doesn't surprise me.  If I was a Pilot, I'd a) be a little hesitant in wanting to not fly ever again and b) go into a career field that's so overworked that you can't do your promotion courses, etc.  I know that the USAF is training folks who weren't previously Pilots to become UAV Pilots, but that's still in fairly early stages. 

 

[SupersonicMax]

b) go into a career field that's so overworked that you can't do your promotion courses, etc.

That's where you don't understand us!  Most of us don't care about promotion and do no want to get promoted.  Promotion = less flying.

 

[cupper]

They could be afraid that they will be shot at while on a mission.  ;D

Colorado town mulls drone hunts to decry spying

http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Colorado-town-mulls-drone-hunts-to-decry-spying-4751643.php

DEER TRAIL, Colo. (AP) — This tiny plains town an hour east of Denver doesn't have much to offer visitors — a gas station, a bar and a small-time rodeo one weekend a year.

But Deer Trail, population 500, is considering a proposal to make itself a national attraction for gun enthusiasts and people skeptical of government surveillance. Citizens on Oct. 8 will vote on whether to issue permits to hunt drones.

Yes, those drones. Shoot 'em down for $25. With a $100 bounty reward for shooters who bring in debris from an unmanned aircraft "known to be owned or operated by the United States federal government."

The initiative's architect insists it's a symbolic stand against government surveillance.

"These are not big drones you see on TV that look like airplanes. These are little 55-pound things that can come right down into your land," said Phillip Steel, a traveling structural inspector.

Steel got the idea after seeing news reports about the National Security Agency's domestic spying efforts. "Do we really want to become a surveillance society? That's what I find really repugnant," Steel said.

 

[tomahawk6]

Make the drone program  "joint service" with volunteers from the Army,Navy and Marines.

 

[Jarnhamar]

They could be afraid that they will be shot at while on a mission.  ;D

Colorado town mulls drone hunts to decry spying

http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Colorado-town-mulls-drone-hunts-to-decry-spying-4751643.php

Shooting pistols rifles and shotguns up in the air at flying drones could have dangerous reprecussions when the bullets come down.

 

[Ostrozac]

That's where you don't understand us!  Most of us don't care about promotion and do no want to get promoted.  Promotion = less flying.

That may be true for RCAF pilots, and even US Army Aviation Warrant Officers, but don't USAF pilots have to deal with an aggressive "up-or-out" policy? Meaning that if you don't jump through your hoops to become a Major, then you are likely to get the boot without a pension? And I can't see a 1000 hours on a Reaper being too marketable over at United Airlines...

I can understand where some of the disgruntlement in the USAF UAV community is coming from.

 

[cupper]

And I can't see a 1000 hours on a Reaper being too marketable over at United Airlines...

But with all the automation on modern airliners these days, it won't be long before the video game generation will take over and fly Dreamliners and 777's from their parent's basements.

Which will leave the real pilots more time to devote to looking cool! >

 

[Good2Golf]

That's where you don't understand us young guys!  Most of us young guys don't care about promotion and do no want to get promoted.  Promotion = less flying.

There fixed that for you. 

Once your vinegar weakens and you see others move beyond and come back to command, and you complain because you "think" you know how to do it better, you might actually care...

Dimsum's point holds for the USAF (and other DoD branches) as de facto "up or out" organization.  Ask your fast-air friends South of the 49th about career progression and DOPMA...


Regards
G2G

 

[SupersonicMax]

G2G,

It depends.  Some guys are happy as Captains for their career... Depends what floats your boat I imagine...

As far as USAF goes, promotion to Major (or even beyond) doesn't mean less flying.  They have as many LtCols on squadron than we have Majors...

Maybe you are right, my peers and myself may still be full of piss and vinegar...

 

[Inquisitor]

Shooting pistols rifles and shotguns up in the air at flying drones could have dangerous reprecussions when the bullets come down.

Probably no more so than firing them at ducks.

My bet is that with the American someone is likely to make a statement, fully automatic weapons are highly regulated in the states, but I suspect that something like a quad 50 on  a technical might be the right sort of kit.  And you would have to plan for the wall of lead returning to earth.

Not to likely to happen in the US. I've often wondered about loss rates in Pakistan where theres more of the above around. If the gunners achieve tactical surprise, and they better if they wish to avoid retribution when the bored pilots start wondering what all the sparkly things are flying by. ;D

 

[Inquisitor]

service ceiling 25,000ft - well so much for prior post

 

[dimsum]

service ceiling 25,000ft - well so much for prior post

Global Hawk and other HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) UAVs fly at 60,000ft, or so the info-machine says.