Originally Posted by AZFlyer

Why do RPA's have to be 'piloted' by actual pilots? In other words, why can't it just be another job to be filled by non-pilot enlisted/officer personnel? I know that pilots are often some of the best and brightest in the military world, but I have to believe that there are tons of smart and capable people that would want to be RPA pilots, just like there are smart and capable people who would want to do whatever other job. People get trained to do all kinds of difficult and challenging things in the military without prior experience. Do that here, and let pilots continue to fill the seats in an airplane.