Posted on May 17, 2015
The Army's drone pilots are not being trained because they are too busy mowing lawns! Thoughts?
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According to a recent GAO report "Army UAS pilots in all of the focus groups we conducted stated that they had difficulty completing UAS pilot training in units because they spend a significant amount of time performing additional duties such as lawn care, janitorial services, and guard duty."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/05/15/the-armys-drone-pilots-dont-get-enough-training-because-theyre-too-busy-mowing-the-lawn/?hpid=z16
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/05/15/the-armys-drone-pilots-dont-get-enough-training-because-theyre-too-busy-mowing-the-lawn/?hpid=z16
Drones
Training
Leadership
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
To be honest I am pretty disappointed. I would have thought they could have turned a lawn mower into a drone and drove it around the lawn for training. This is the out of the box type of thinking we are missing in the Army.
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CPT (Join to see)
SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. They would have got that gopher that Bill Murray couldn't.
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SPC Charles Brown
Yeah, you are right GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad and we all know the military isn't particularly fond of practical in certain situations.
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SFC Stephen Carden
I think this idea is genius! LOL But then again, we all know that 1LT Rosa ain't your ordinary 1LT!
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GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad, my first thought was, "Why didn't they also mention doing KP?" Doing area beautification, guard duty, kitchen patrol (KP), cleaning/waxing of floors, pulling staff duty and CQ, etc., are all part of being a Soldier. It's a cost-effective way to get these jobs done, and it also minimizes down time. It's more prevalent in the junior enlisted ranks, but the Senior NCOs have already gone through the rituals and put in their fair share of time waxing floors.
It does cut into training time, but not to the extent that missions can't be accomplished.
It does cut into training time, but not to the extent that missions can't be accomplished.
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LTC Yinon Weiss
SGT (Join to see) - I wouldn't say those are are traits of being a professional Soldier. I would say those are traits of being a member of the US Army. There's a difference, and it doesn't have to be that way.
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SFC Stephen Carden
I disagree with LTC Yinon Weiss , respectfully of course. I think all of the "extra duties" that we perform as junior, and sometimes senior, enlisted are an important part of the transition from civilian into professional Soldier. Every task we hated as privates and specialists taught us things like responsibility, attention to detail, time management, leadership, accountability, and professionalism. Development of these traits, some of which aren't learned by the vast majority of Soldiers until they join the military, is vital to the maturation process and professional demeanor that we expect from our NCOs and officers. This isn't summer camp, it's the military. We should take care of our own stuff and save money on contractors. When we talk about lost training time, let's also discuss the 1.5 hour lunches, the early releases, and the ridiculous amount of holidays, four-day weekends, and payday activities that we have that also waste "training time".
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I can believe it. After working the Army on Bragg for over 3 years, I've seen things like this on more than one occasion.
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