Read Online Drone Wars 1: Day of the Drone by T. R. Harris - Free Book Online
Authors: T. R. Harris
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and composite cartridges to miniature missiles. And since most drone attacks take place at point blank range, there’s no need for a lot of range or penetrating power, so a decent-size combat drone can carry enough armament to last for a while, depending on how plentiful the targets are. That’s the reason the RDC has become so important. Without some countering force showing up on-site, these killer drones can just leisurely pick off targets as they’re located. I know the death toll always look high in most drone attacks—even to me—yet without us there to shut down an event, the numbers would be far worse.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me, Mr. Smith. Now I’d like to spend a few minutes talking about the operators—the pilots, as you call them. Are you really pilots?”
It was Xander’s turn to smile. “That’s what we’re called. I can be honest with you and say I don’t hold a pilot’s license for traditional aircraft; however, I’m pretty good with a controller in my hand.”
Their eyes locked for a moment. “I’m sure you are, Mr. Smith.”
The moment passed and she continued. “What about burnout and other psychological factors with your pilots? I know that was an ongoing problem with the military drone pilots.”
“We don’t have that problem here.”
“Why not?”
“Because our mission is completely different. What you’re referring to is the outdated foreign strike program. Those units have been retired. We now use the smaller UAVs.”
“So what makes your mission so different?”
“Simple, we’re completely defensive in nature. On background, Tiffany, the problem they had with the initial drone program came from the attachment the operators sometimes developed with their targets. They would often spend weeks surveilling a hostile before getting the order to take out them out. They weren’t given a reason, just the order. It’s one thing to be in a firefight against an enemy across the street shooting back at you. You’ll kill without remorse, justifying it as self-defense. Most of the PTSD live combat troops suffer is a result of the fear associated with such fighting, not from the act of killing itself. With the drone program, the issue became the killing. There was no direct feeling of self-defense or personal danger in these cases, and most compassionate people have a problem with simply following orders to execute a person—any person.”
“But the targets were enemy combatants.”
“Or so they were portrayed. The pilots and sensors had a problem accepting that assertion, and so there was a lot of turnover in personnel in the early days of the program.”
“But here at the RDC you don’t have that problem?”
“Not at all, since we react to an attack already taking place. It’s our job to stop an event in its tracks by killing—if you will—inanimate objects. Our job saves lives, we don’t take them. It’s a completely different mindset, based on the mission, and our people take immense pride in what they do.”
“And yet you stay secret, unnamed, and hidden away.”
Xander smiled again. “We’re not looking for medals and ticker-tape parades, Tiffany. We stay anonymous because the enemy realizes our value and have made us targets. In all honesty, you can have thousands of advanced UAVs at your disposal, yet without skilled pilots and operators, they’re just useless pieces of plastic and composite.”
“Which brings us to the Exceptional Skills Bill. You know there’s a lot of opposition to its passage—”
The door to the conference room suddenly burst open and a grave-looking Colonel Jamie Simms stepped in, followed by an Air Force tech sergeant.
“Sorry to interrupt, but this interview is over,” Simms announced in a voice that left no room for discussion. “The sergeant will escort Ms. Collins to a safe room until arrangements can be made for her departure.”
“What’s going on?” Tiffany asked. Her face was flush with
“Thank you for sharing that with me, Mr. Smith. Now I’d like to spend a few minutes talking about the operators—the pilots, as you call them. Are you really pilots?”
It was Xander’s turn to smile. “That’s what we’re called. I can be honest with you and say I don’t hold a pilot’s license for traditional aircraft; however, I’m pretty good with a controller in my hand.”
Their eyes locked for a moment. “I’m sure you are, Mr. Smith.”
The moment passed and she continued. “What about burnout and other psychological factors with your pilots? I know that was an ongoing problem with the military drone pilots.”
“We don’t have that problem here.”
“Why not?”
“Because our mission is completely different. What you’re referring to is the outdated foreign strike program. Those units have been retired. We now use the smaller UAVs.”
“So what makes your mission so different?”
“Simple, we’re completely defensive in nature. On background, Tiffany, the problem they had with the initial drone program came from the attachment the operators sometimes developed with their targets. They would often spend weeks surveilling a hostile before getting the order to take out them out. They weren’t given a reason, just the order. It’s one thing to be in a firefight against an enemy across the street shooting back at you. You’ll kill without remorse, justifying it as self-defense. Most of the PTSD live combat troops suffer is a result of the fear associated with such fighting, not from the act of killing itself. With the drone program, the issue became the killing. There was no direct feeling of self-defense or personal danger in these cases, and most compassionate people have a problem with simply following orders to execute a person—any person.”
“But the targets were enemy combatants.”
“Or so they were portrayed. The pilots and sensors had a problem accepting that assertion, and so there was a lot of turnover in personnel in the early days of the program.”
“But here at the RDC you don’t have that problem?”
“Not at all, since we react to an attack already taking place. It’s our job to stop an event in its tracks by killing—if you will—inanimate objects. Our job saves lives, we don’t take them. It’s a completely different mindset, based on the mission, and our people take immense pride in what they do.”
“And yet you stay secret, unnamed, and hidden away.”
Xander smiled again. “We’re not looking for medals and ticker-tape parades, Tiffany. We stay anonymous because the enemy realizes our value and have made us targets. In all honesty, you can have thousands of advanced UAVs at your disposal, yet without skilled pilots and operators, they’re just useless pieces of plastic and composite.”
“Which brings us to the Exceptional Skills Bill. You know there’s a lot of opposition to its passage—”
The door to the conference room suddenly burst open and a grave-looking Colonel Jamie Simms stepped in, followed by an Air Force tech sergeant.
“Sorry to interrupt, but this interview is over,” Simms announced in a voice that left no room for discussion. “The sergeant will escort Ms. Collins to a safe room until arrangements can be made for her departure.”
“What’s going on?” Tiffany asked. Her face was flush with
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