Posted on Jan 16, 2016
Pentagon Will Extend Military Honors to Drone Operators Far From Battles
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For years, the military’s drone pilots have toiled in obscurity from windowless rooms at bases in suburban America, viewed by some in the armed forces more as video game players than as warriors.
But in a reflection of their increasingly important role under President Obama, the drone operators will now be eligible for military honors akin to those given to pilots who flew over the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Defense Department on Thursday is scheduled to announce that it has created a designation to recognize service members who had a direct effect on combat operations even though they were operating remotely, Pentagon officials said. Drone pilots are likely to receive many of the awards, but they may also be given to operators who launch cyberattacks.
But in a reflection of their increasingly important role under President Obama, the drone operators will now be eligible for military honors akin to those given to pilots who flew over the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Defense Department on Thursday is scheduled to announce that it has created a designation to recognize service members who had a direct effect on combat operations even though they were operating remotely, Pentagon officials said. Drone pilots are likely to receive many of the awards, but they may also be given to operators who launch cyberattacks.
Pentagon Will Extend Military Honors to Drone Operators Far From Battles
Posted from nytimes.com
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Posted >1 y ago
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I think it's fair they get recognition, but different from those who are overseas. It's different being there physically vs digitally, both can be terrible in their own way. I do think it's unfair how the UAS operator's input to the battlefield has been talked down, it's a political move to award them- it's not the operators fault- and they've been talked down to because of the politicization of their duties.
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I am happy to see these operators will get the recognition they deserve. In my opinion, this is just a reflection of the evolution of modern warfare. These guys/gals impact operations in so many ways that it would be unfortunate to not recognize their growing roles. Frankly, I don't understand why there would be any resistance?
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs So does this mean that Naval personnel who fire stand-off ordnance are going to get awards, as well? Or Army artillery guys firing miles and miles from direct combat?
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SPC Stephen Gerard
Artillery and CONUS drone operators should not be compared. This would probably be offensive to the artillerymen who aren't as far away from contact than you may imagine, and certainly closer than the drone folks.
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SN Greg Wright
SPC Stephen Gerard - What's your take on Naval gunners, then? Or Fire Control-men who light off Tomahawks?
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SPC Stephen Gerard
You mean the naval gunners who are deployed, right? I see that you may be attempting to blur the lines, and it's easy to do when there are a variety of different perspectives or relatively similar positions/duties. The key, though, is that boots on the ground (this includes those in the air) shouldn't be compared to a drone operator - i.e. artillerymen and drone operators aren't even on the same playing field, LITERALLY.
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