US senators: Pilots of terror drones need proper training

US senators call for the proper training of assassination drone pilots.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

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Leaders of the US Senate Armed Services Committee have called on the Pentagon chief to make arrangements for the proper training of assassination drone pilots.

Committee Chairman John McCain and ranking member Jack Reed notified Defense Secretary Ash Carter about the issue on Wednesday, after a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed this month that the Pentagon was facing “challenges” to train drone pilots.

“We are disturbed that the Department of Defense has no standardized training program for UAS [unmanned aerial system] pilots and personnel,” they wrote in a letter to Carter.

“The continued lack of consistent and uniform training standards is simply unacceptable,” they said.

Drone pilots may not be receiving the training they required to operate their aircraft, the GAO, which acts as Congress’s investigative arm, said in a report published on May 14.

“The Army and the Air Force face challenges ensuring that the pilots who remotely operate their unmanned aerial systems (UAS) complete their required training,” it added.

Since 2001, the United States has been carrying out drone attacks in several countries, including Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia.

The aerial attacks were initiated by former US President George W. Bush but have been escalated under President Barack Obama.

Former US drone operator Brandon Bryant, who was involved in the killing of more than 1600 people, revealed earlier this year that aerial strikes are conducted with complete uncertainty.

Bryant, who worked for almost five years in America's secret drone program bombing targets in Afghanistan and other countries, such as Pakistan and Iraq, said operators lacked visibility and were not sure about the identity of the people they were shooting at.

“We see silhouette, shadows of people, and we kill those shadows,” said Bryant.

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