Martin the Martian
18th Jun 2017, 16:20
Interesting article in The Sunday Times today. Not anything we don't already know, I guess, but I can't help wondering if some of these guys are going to end up with big problems in years to come:
‘Killing jihadist fathers is hard’: RAF drone pilots reveal stress of taking out targets
They sit in metal shipping containers in Lincolnshire, watching their targets in Syria and Iraq go about their daily lives — before killing them.
RAF drone pilots have lifted the lid on the exhaustion and mental stress of their job, fighting a remote war thousands of miles away.
Their testimonies have been recorded by Peter Lee, an academic at Portsmouth University and a former RAF chaplain, who was given unprecedented access to members and former members of the two Reaper squadrons who have targeted Isis, and, previously, the Taliban in Afghanistan.
One of the pilots described how a target could be followed secretly for weeks before a strike, with the crews learning every intimate detail of his life, from when he eats his meals and drives to the mosque to when he goes to the lavatory.
They also highlighted the impact of witnessing distressing events on the ground — including the consequences of their bomb or missile strikes — in close detail via the drone’s infrared camera.
“What we also see is the individual interacting with his family — playing with his children and helping his wife around the compound. When a strike goes in, we stay on station and see the reactions of the wife and kids when the body is brought to them. You see someone fall to the floor and sob so hard their body is convulsing.”
Another pilot recalled how in 2011 he was involved in watching a Taliban bomb maker for weeks to build up a picture of his activities. The insurgent always had one or more of his children with him and the Reaper crews became so familiar with them that they gave them names.
“That familiarity made it ‘harder to kill him’, said one of the crew members involved, ‘but we did’,” said Lee in a written submission to a group of MPs last week.
Each Reaper has a crew of three and is flown from inside shipping containers at either RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire or a US airbase in Nevada.
Lee said the “most common feature” of his interviews was the fatigue the crews face. They work six consecutive days, between 10 and 12 hours a day, before having a three-day break.
One operator, who has worked on Reaper missions for five years, told Lee that he could compartmentalise his work and home life very well. Lee, however, said that during their interview “tears began to roll down his face”.
“At the end of the conversation he went back to his duties . . . as calm and seemingly unflustered when he left as when he arrived. Within a short time he had killed again.”
In total, 18 spouses and partners of Reaper crew members talked to Lee about the impact the missions have on family life, with some detailing how their loved ones had been changed by the intensity of their work. “They don’t readapt when they come home,” said one.
Lee said every crew member should have a mandatory session with a psychologist “once every three or six months, but possibly more frequently”.
Drone crews and their families have voiced frustration at the lack of public recognition — the threat from terrorists means they are advised not to discuss their work. “We are like a dirty little secret,” said the partner of one operator.
As drone crews are not under fire and are far from the battlefield, they do not receive medals, something Lee believes should be urgently addressed.
The RAF said: “As with all military personnel, their working hours are managed closely to ensure they have time for rest and recuperation.
“They also have access to world-class healthcare to help them deal with the stresses and strains of their duties, and rates of post-traumatic stress disorder among UK Reaper crews are no higher than the general service population.”
‘Killing jihadist fathers is hard’: RAF drone pilots reveal stress of taking out targets
They sit in metal shipping containers in Lincolnshire, watching their targets in Syria and Iraq go about their daily lives — before killing them.
RAF drone pilots have lifted the lid on the exhaustion and mental stress of their job, fighting a remote war thousands of miles away.
Their testimonies have been recorded by Peter Lee, an academic at Portsmouth University and a former RAF chaplain, who was given unprecedented access to members and former members of the two Reaper squadrons who have targeted Isis, and, previously, the Taliban in Afghanistan.
One of the pilots described how a target could be followed secretly for weeks before a strike, with the crews learning every intimate detail of his life, from when he eats his meals and drives to the mosque to when he goes to the lavatory.
They also highlighted the impact of witnessing distressing events on the ground — including the consequences of their bomb or missile strikes — in close detail via the drone’s infrared camera.
“What we also see is the individual interacting with his family — playing with his children and helping his wife around the compound. When a strike goes in, we stay on station and see the reactions of the wife and kids when the body is brought to them. You see someone fall to the floor and sob so hard their body is convulsing.”
Another pilot recalled how in 2011 he was involved in watching a Taliban bomb maker for weeks to build up a picture of his activities. The insurgent always had one or more of his children with him and the Reaper crews became so familiar with them that they gave them names.
“That familiarity made it ‘harder to kill him’, said one of the crew members involved, ‘but we did’,” said Lee in a written submission to a group of MPs last week.
Each Reaper has a crew of three and is flown from inside shipping containers at either RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire or a US airbase in Nevada.
Lee said the “most common feature” of his interviews was the fatigue the crews face. They work six consecutive days, between 10 and 12 hours a day, before having a three-day break.
One operator, who has worked on Reaper missions for five years, told Lee that he could compartmentalise his work and home life very well. Lee, however, said that during their interview “tears began to roll down his face”.
“At the end of the conversation he went back to his duties . . . as calm and seemingly unflustered when he left as when he arrived. Within a short time he had killed again.”
In total, 18 spouses and partners of Reaper crew members talked to Lee about the impact the missions have on family life, with some detailing how their loved ones had been changed by the intensity of their work. “They don’t readapt when they come home,” said one.
Lee said every crew member should have a mandatory session with a psychologist “once every three or six months, but possibly more frequently”.
Drone crews and their families have voiced frustration at the lack of public recognition — the threat from terrorists means they are advised not to discuss their work. “We are like a dirty little secret,” said the partner of one operator.
As drone crews are not under fire and are far from the battlefield, they do not receive medals, something Lee believes should be urgently addressed.
The RAF said: “As with all military personnel, their working hours are managed closely to ensure they have time for rest and recuperation.
“They also have access to world-class healthcare to help them deal with the stresses and strains of their duties, and rates of post-traumatic stress disorder among UK Reaper crews are no higher than the general service population.”