should drone 'pilots' get medals? in Social Chat Forum

0 Points

should drone 'pilots' get medals?

Author	Comment
Bob.brownwaternavya...	should drone 'pilots' get medals?		Lead	[-]
Posts: 141 Jul 12 12 6:25 PM	http://www.salon.com/2012...ravery_and_drone_pilots/
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
nmfxstc		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 25210 Jul 12 12 6:31 PM	NO! Just NO! Bravery and valor do not come from afar and a desk console! We have other awards for exceptional service, including the Meritorious Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit....but for heroism and valor...NO...just freakin NO! Fillean meal ar an meallaire.
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
crewchiefuh1h		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1990 Jul 12 12 6:31 PM	No. A least not any medals for valor. Maybe a commendation, like the Ar. Com., but certainly nothing for valor.
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
SirVivor		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3338 Jul 12 12 6:32 PM	I’m sure it takes great skills to pilot a drone. I don’t understand how bravery plays in when the operator is 5 – 6 thousands of miles away and at no personal risk. Charlie "Never Look Down on Anybody... Unless You’re Helping Them Up..."
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
Cheyenne		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2976 Jul 12 12 6:33 PM	Absolutely not!
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
Bob.brownwaternavya...		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 141 Jul 12 12 6:50 PM	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPFO-eufp1Y
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
herdgrunt		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 5812 Jul 12 12 7:12 PM	Why would anyone think of something so cockamininy as this?? I mean, I know things have changed and that's the ''new Army,'' but really, this????????????
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
ONeal Paul		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1175 Jul 12 12 7:16 PM	I'm about as liberal as they come but this is just BS. Is this really the way the NEW militARY is going! Sickening, just makes me sick. I'm gonna go puke BBL Branch: Navy 1979 to 1994 Rate/Rank: OSC(SW)/E-7 Job: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_Specialist_(US_Navy) Conflicts: Iran War--Operation Eagle Claw (Rescue Attempt of 52 American Hostages) 1980 Iran/Iraq/Tanker War--Operation Ernest Will 1987-1988 Desert Storm/Shield--Operation Provide Comfort 1990-1991 Iraq No Fly Zone--Operation Southern Watch 1991-2003 "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
crewchiefuh1h		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1990 Jul 12 12 7:42 PM	Bob wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPFO-eufp1Y I'm sorry, but reading the captioning on the video was hilarious...
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
m109howitzer	oneilpaul	#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3425 Jul 12 12 7:46 PM	I agree with you 110% What the hell is going on. From he posts that drill sgts dont yell at new trainees. To soldiers allowed to wear different headgear. If they are going to give out valor medals then they should have to pay for the drone if it crashed. I think the drone should get the Purple Heart. Or maybe if the drone takes hostile fire the controller should get the medal??WTF. If the controller crashes into an enemy stronghold, and the drone kills 100 enemy should the drone get the CMO??? I am feeling kinda sick myself.
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
Ron91		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1107 Jul 12 12 8:25 PM	Re: "The proposed medal would rank between the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Soldier’s Medal for exceptional conduct outside a combat zone." Perfectly ridiculous and unwarranted. There are existing awards available for approval and presentation for their technical expertise. Ron
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
Survivir		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 10260 Jul 12 12 8:31 PM	Yes they Should. Get THIS Medal. That's ALL...Folks. Survivir
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
Blade	Drones	#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 150 Jul 12 12 9:01 PM	OK..........you are pinned down. (Been there) Perhaps 7 or 8 of us, 100 or so of them (Been there). You manage to call in some artillerary for help (Been there). The young Private or Specialist, from somewhere afar slams that plug right on top of you and saves your ass (Been there). Did he deserve a medal? Did he deserve recognition. Probably not although there were many times I would have loved to personally thank him. He did his job........and did it well. Heroism........NO!! Do the Drone people deserve anything. NO.........absolutely not. Manned pilots........Absolutely yes!! They are doing the job that they were trained to do. Nothing more. Just sayin'. BLADE 5th Special Forces Group (MIKE FORCE) Vietnam, 1965-1966
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
ONeal Paul		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1175 Jul 12 12 9:12 PM	Exactly, this is like saying the tomahawk console operator responsible for entering in the flight path, waypoints, etc and pusing the fire button should get a medal for doing his fricking job. I guess I would qualify for one since I controlled helicopters during anti-submarine warfare and told the pilots when to drop their ordance. BS, just BS! Like others have said. There are other medals already available for this. Branch: Navy 1979 to 1994 Rate/Rank: OSC(SW)/E-7 Job: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_Specialist_(US_Navy) Conflicts: Iran War--Operation Eagle Claw (Rescue Attempt of 52 American Hostages) 1980 Iran/Iraq/Tanker War--Operation Ernest Will 1987-1988 Desert Storm/Shield--Operation Provide Comfort 1990-1991 Iraq No Fly Zone--Operation Southern Watch 1991-2003 "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
VABA		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2518 Jul 12 12 9:46 PM	The medals, in my view, are for the exact same reason that pilots were issued leather jackets in 1987, to improve pilot morale and retention. But it's one thing to inflate pilot ego with a uniform change, and quite another to allow drone pilots to earn medals for bravery. It smells something like STOLEN VALOR to me.
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
Tim1963	UAV Pilots	#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 129 Jul 13 12 11:02 AM	Whats interesting to me is how the Army and Air Force handle the UAV operators/pilots. The Army UAV operators are young enlisted soldiers trained at Fort Huachuca. They are not Army Aviators. The Army has been flying drones for a long time and the operators were always enlisted men and women i believe.. The Air Force operators are officers and trained pilots and draw flight pay for operating the UAV's. I believe, but am not sure, the Air Force operators also draw combat pay. Don't know how the Marines and Navy handle the issue. Maybe someone can fill us in thats more up to date than me. Another distinction I would raise on this issue: The DFC in the Army is always awarded for valor I think. The USAF and Navy i believe can award the DFC for valor but also for distinguised performance associated with aerial flight. If I am correct, technically, an Air Force UAV operator could be awarded a DFC--which in my humble view would be a mistake. My take being the UAV is "aerial" wheras the operator is not. Tim1963
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
ONeal Paul		#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1175 Jul 13 12 11:21 AM	Who does what in the AF is way different from the Navy. Enlisted personnel control both fixed wing and rotary wind AC in the Navy. In the AF, only officers are air controllers. Not sure why the difference... Branch: Navy 1979 to 1994 Rate/Rank: OSC(SW)/E-7 Job: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_Specialist_(US_Navy) Conflicts: Iran War--Operation Eagle Claw (Rescue Attempt of 52 American Hostages) 1980 Iran/Iraq/Tanker War--Operation Ernest Will 1987-1988 Desert Storm/Shield--Operation Provide Comfort 1990-1991 Iraq No Fly Zone--Operation Southern Watch 1991-2003 "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
nmfxstc		#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 25210 Jul 13 12 11:22 AM	It seems to me that, over the years, we have "cheapened" (for lack of a better word at the moment) the purpose and significance of our military medals an awards. I mean, look at the USAF as an example. Almost every SSgt or TSgt with eight to tens tears in has a couple of commendation Medals and an Achievement Medal here and there along with them. If you look into the dates of those medals, it is almost exclusively on a PCS move. The Meritorious Service Medal was once pretty much an officer award at or above the rank of Major, the accepted for enlisted grades E7 - E-9. Now, with a "war" going on, we see the Bronze Star Medal awarded with increasing frequency (w/o the "V"), meaning it is the same as the MSM but in an overseas "war zone" region. And....there is now discussion of making the Purple Heart an award for PTSD? OK...how many of the Commendation Medals were awarded for anything specific (yup...Johnny saved the USAF 1.6 million dollars by initiating and implementing "X" program, reduced costs in "X" section by $200K annually, yada, yada. If all of those Commendation and Meritorious medals were factual, the USAF wouldn't need as budget because of all the savings! Go back to the era of say between 1963 - 1970...our fliers earned the Air Medal....that's when the Commendation Medals started being awarded in droves....because our ground airmen couldn't earn the Air Medal and would be three pints "penalized" under the promoti9on system. Honestly, the COM, MSM and BS are now pretty much meaningless as an award for what they were intended for...instead, each of those is ow a PCS medal! Fillean meal ar an meallaire.
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
usaf1981		#18	[url]	[-]
Posts: 308 Jul 13 12 11:34 AM	Paul ONeal wrote: "In the AF, only officers are air controllers." That is not true, the Air Traffic Control facilities are manned my enlisted of all ranks. Not sure where you got your info but thought I would clear that up. Daryl
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
ONeal Paul		#19	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1175 Jul 13 12 1:13 PM	usaf1981 wrote: Paul ONeal wrote: "In the AF, only officers are air controllers." That is not true, the Air Traffic Control facilities are manned my enlisted of all ranks. Not sure where you got your info but thought I would clear that up. Daryl Hmmm, we had an AF Officer onboard while I was on the USS Chosin and he told us that ATC in the AF were officers. This was 20 years ago though. He was observing how our controllers did air intercepts, etc. Branch: Navy 1979 to 1994 Rate/Rank: OSC(SW)/E-7 Job: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_Specialist_(US_Navy) Conflicts: Iran War--Operation Eagle Claw (Rescue Attempt of 52 American Hostages) 1980 Iran/Iraq/Tanker War--Operation Ernest Will 1987-1988 Desert Storm/Shield--Operation Provide Comfort 1990-1991 Iraq No Fly Zone--Operation Southern Watch 1991-2003 "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote
Donna	Navy UAV Operators	#20	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3356 Jul 13 12 1:43 PM	The Navy's UAV operators were also enlisted, with a handfull of aviators that were no longer able to have actually fly. The ones that I am aware of were also trained in Fort Huachuca. I had a unit in Balad, and while they should be recognized for their performance, we had a CO that was hell bent on trying to over inflate their awards. Needless to say, most of what he insisted be submitted was downgraded by our ISIC. I was proud of them, but lets be honest, they were not in the line of fire, and they sat in air conditioned huts. Donna
Interact My Recent Posts	Reply Quote

Yuku free message boards

Link to VBN User Agreement. By Using VBN, You agree to ALL TERMS.

should drone 'pilots' get medals?

should drone 'pilots' get medals?

VBN User Agreement

About VBN