Originally Posted by
Deuce130
I disagreed due to the fact that not all aviators get the same pay though all share the same risk. My enlisted aircrew are going to die .1 seconds after me and the other pilot; it wouldn't be fair to insinuate that I get higher pay b/c my life is more valuable. Instead, I get higher pay due to my skill set and longevity. As such, I wouldn't be surprised (or care) if RPV operators got the same ACIP as I or any other flyer got. And in regards to a different poster, I also don't care who gets to wear flight suits, wings, leather jackets, scarves, or whatever patch is the cool one to have these days. Doesn't have any impact on me or the mission I do.
It isn't about whether your life is more valuable than theirs - and I'm sure NO ONE insinuated that. You get incentive pay because the job you do is dangerous. They get incentive pay for the same reasons. You get more than they do because of your education, training, rank, responsibility, etc.... The same reasons that the old grizzled Major (who has made all the required gates) gets more than the brand new 2ndLt. If you want to call this skill set and longevity - than it just just a difference in wording that we are talking about; I'm pretty sure we are saying the same thing here.
No - in my opinion the UAV flyers should not get the same pay without taking the same risks. Also - all of those things that you don't care about like flight suits, patches, WINGS, and such - those WERE/ARE suppose to be honors bestowed upon the werer for doing things and putting themselves at risk above and beyond. I suppose you think just anybody ought to get to wear a Purple Heart or Silver Cross too? How about a Special Forces Beret or a Trident? No....we aren't all the same. Those who made it through UAV training don't deserve to wear the same set of wings that YOU are wearing. They deserve their OWN set of wings (which it sounds like they got), and I don't deserve to wear them or their patches or anything else bestowed upon that community until I complete their training program.
I really hope you come to understand that.
USMCFLYR