LivingInMEM

Maybe that's because you aren't familiar with what they do.

I am not a fan of sending UPT grads to UAV's, I am not a fan of sending UPT grads to F-22's, and I am not a fan of sending non-rated pilots to UAV's. For years, a myriad of staff jobs have been slotted for rated officers, when in reality they had no such real requirement. I assume that you believe the duty officer in the command post, the guy carrying the safety brick, the guy working assignments at MPC, the ALO, etc all should be pilots; but the guy flying the actual aerial vehicle providing no sh** CAS should not be.

The difficult part of being a UAV operator is not flying the UAV, just as the difficult part of flying the F-15 is not flying it....the difficult part is employment. Do you have any idea of how the UAV's are integrating into the combat environment? Do you have any idea of the importance of taking tactically experienced pilots who can envision the environment the UAV is operating in and make appropriate decisions as far as objective coverage or weapons employment is concerned. Lives are at stake, let's go ahead and lower the bar here.

Detpilot, I have flown aircraft in combat, and I understand the responsibility that comes with pressing the pickle button no matter where your actual a** may be residing. The most difficult part of employing ordnance in real life is not the fact that you are over the objective, the most difficult part is knowing that people are about to die and being comfortable with the fact that you did everything correctly. Have you seen what the current leadership does when things go wrong in combat - it doesn't take much searching to find examples of soldiers/pilots/Marines/etc being charged with crimes such as manslaughter. I would like to believe that you can understand the unbelievably intense and split-second decision making process a cop goes through before taking a life, now multiply that times some factor due to either the political sensitivities of the region, the understanding that if you fail US or Allied forces may die, or the knowledge that if you made a mistake you may be charged with a crime. That is no exaggeration, that's reality.

The reality is you joined the USAF to provide this nation with whatever services you were asked. There is no more important mission in this war....period... than protecting our soldiers on the ground. Before you whine about having to do a tour in a UAV, try walking down the street wondering if every pile of trash or scar in the road is an IED. And, given that protecting our soldiers is job one, it is the UAV's doing that job right now. Like it or not, that is what it is - there is no more important task than killing those who are trying to kill ours. And their security is more important than putting some under-qualified guy in there so you can go fly around the flag pole.

Adler, that guy that washed out of UPT most likely washed out becuase of insufficient judgement, airmanship, or decision-making. Are those the guys that we need to have employing ordnance. The guys on the ground need CAS NOW, and they are counting on this guy to make the right call? By the way, have you seen what it takes to wash out of UPT nowadays? How about those that taught IFF or at an RTU? Would you characterize those students as "strong decision makers"? The lives of friendlies are going to rest on the fact that this guy can make the right decision with regards to: if to employ, where to emply, how to employ, what to employ (MQ-9), or how much to employ and you want to send guys that have trouble making (and then sticking with) a decision on which way to turn in holding? Uhh...OK?