New experiment for UAV Pilot Qualification.

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From AF Daily Report-17 SEP 08

Up and Away: The Air Force envisions building a force of 1,100 unmanned aircraft operators—up from today's pool of about 450—by Fiscal 2012 to support 50 continuous MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper combat air patrols under two new initiatives announced Tuesday at AFA's Air & Space Conference. The initiatives will develop a new cadre of UAV operators that do not have experience operating other combat aircraft, and in some cases, have no real previous flying experience at all, service officials said. "This will certainly be a cultural change," Brig. Gen. Lyn Sherlock, director of air operations on the Air Staff, told reporters during a press briefing. Previously, the service has drawn its UAV operators from the ranks of more experienced pilots. But with the insatiable demand for UAVs, not only for overhead surveillance, but also for strike and additional roles, the Air Force is taking this new approach. Under the first initiative, the Air Force will select about 10 percent of its next batch of graduates from undergraduate pilot training in October—about 100 airmen—for training in UAV operations at Creech AFB, Nev. The second, more radical concept entails creating a new career field for UAV operators by choosing active-duty officers from various technical and non-technical backgrounds to teach to teach them to fly the UAVs. These officers will get some introductory flight training at Pueblo, Colo, and then go straight into Predator training "to bring them up to fully qualified mission status," said Brig. Gen. Darrell Jones, director of force management policy on the Air Staff. To see if this idea has long-term legs, there will be a two-part "beta test" program, he said. An initial class of 10 officers will start training in January until next fall. A second class of 10 will start next summer and finish before the end of 2009, Sherlock said. If those two test runs prove successful, the Air Force would then start accepting larger classes, Jones said.

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From AF Daily Report 17 Sep 08 (See above)
Pilots Heading Straight to UAV Assignments: The Air Force will for the first time this month begin assigning pilots directly to operational unmanned aerial vehicle units as first assignments. The short term goal is to increase the number of unmanned aircraft operators from 300 to 1,100, to meet combatant commander requirements. Currently, UAV pilots begin life as pilots of manned aircraft and are later shifted to UAVs. The growing demand for warm bodies has made that model unsustainable, however, and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz announced the change Tuesday at AFA's Air & Space Conference, saying 100 airmen a month may be headed direct to the UAV units upon completion of undergraduate pilot training. Schwartz said the priority will be to create a "strong and healthy" Air Force UAV career field, not "a leper colony." Later, he said, the goal is to create an independent unmanned aerial vehicle operator career field independent of the regular pilot pipeline.

**How do you think they will be selected? The Instructor Pilots have no UAV experience so they will have no input. Will they use a lottery? In the past assignments were based on class standing. Does that mean if you finish last you get UAVs? This could be a real bucket of worms. The cost of training a pilot and then assigning him beside a 'pilot' selected from other AFSCs doesn't seem cost effective. Selection criteria will be a big deal for the troops and for the AF in general. Might cause some seeking a flying career to look at other services IMHO.

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Same AF Daily report as above

Ride to the Sound of the Guns … and Find UAVs: The Air Force will probably see a fair number of volunteers for assignments direct to unmanned aerial vehicles, Gen. Stephen Lorenz, the new commander of Air Education and Training Command, told reporters at AFA's Air & Space Conference Tuesday. The old military maxim that you should "ride to the sound of the guns" applies, he said. UAVs such as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are on the front lines of the war on terror every day, and their influence will probably continue to grow as inventories expand. Lorenz said plans call for an initial cadre of straight-to-UAV pilots to finish undergraduate pilot training and report to Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nev., for several months of UAV-specific finishing. After a tour in the UAVs, the Predator and Reaper pilots will be offered a follow-on assignment in a manned aircraft. But Lorenz predicts that the UAV community will soon stabilize. As the number of unmanned aircraft and their operating locations continue to expand, operators will likely begin spending much of their careers with the Predator or Reaper, just as an F-16 or KC-135 pilot remains primarily with the same aircraft today.

Hummm...........time will tell The number of manned aircraft are decreasing because of attrition and fewer new acquistions. This is getting to be like being in a company and waiting for your boss to retire so you can move up.

[MIKE JG]

Well there's all the motivation the students need not to slack off in UPT. Wonder who their going to "make" go the UAV track, the top students or the bottom or somewhere in between.

Seriously though, say a guy busts his butt in high school to get himself into the AFA because his dream is to fly fighters. He does that and manages to get through the tough years at the Academy. In fact he does well enough to ensure that he goes to UPT straight out of graduation. He get's there, everything is going exactly the way he planned. He finishes right in the middle of his class at UPT and the next thing he knows, he's headed to Creech to fly big RC airplanes for the foreseeable future.

That's gotta suck.

[SMOC]

Well there's all the motivation the students need not to slack off in UPT. Wonder who their going to "make" go the UAV track, the top students or the bottom or somewhere in between.

Seriously though, say a guy busts his butt in high school to get himself into the AFA because his dream is to fly fighters. He does that and manages to get through the tough years at the Academy. In fact he does well enough to ensure that he goes to UPT straight out of graduation. He get's there, everything is going exactly the way he planned. He finishes right in the middle of his class at UPT and the next thing he knows, he's headed to Creech to fly big RC airplanes for the foreseeable future.

That's gotta suck.

Why does it suck? That person is still serving the USAF in a needed capacity. Service before self.

Additionally, the way life works out isn't usually how we plan it. Some of my friends who fly heavies wanted fighters and afterward said they wouldn't want to fly anything but a heavy now. My best friend(helo pilot) tried to get heavies but was forced into helos and is having the time of his life with his bird.

I've maintained all along that flying UAVs isn't a glamorous job and I understand not wanting to do it, but it IS necessary and they serve a valuable role in the current war as well as future wars. The imaginary person in your scenario should be satisfied knowing they were in the top of the country to make it to the AFA, top of the criteria to make to UPT and were able to earn their wings and serve their country. Not everyone gets that opportunity for one reason or another.

[MIKE JG]

Agree with all of that, but if such a person's dream since childhood has been to fly a fighter jet when they grew up, and then suddenly due to circumstances beyond their control, even though they've done everything in their power to make it happen, they get assigned UAVs, I can't think such a person would be doing backflips because they at least got to serve their country.

Somehow I think such a person would certainly be disappointed and not real happy with life at that moment. Now would they get over it and accept their role, probably and maybe they would even come to see the benefits of not getting depolyed and sleeping in their own bed at night.

But if your dream was to be a fighter pilot, and instead you end up a UAV pilot, most people are going to be crushed, I know I would. That's what I'm trying to say.

[SMOC]

UAV pilots do deploy.

Your point is taken... but being assigned UAVs out of UPT doesn't mean you won't get fighters. If you went from t-38 to UAVs, you'll be recycled into the fighter/bomber track. If you went T-1 or T-44 into UAV, you'll go tanker/airlift track after finishing your assignment.

As I said, I would be disappointed too if I wanted to fly one thing and got another. But I would take solace in the fact that I got to serve in the USAF and be a contributor to a meaningful cause.

That's just me though... I do know people who have threatened to resign their commission if they have to fly UAVs.

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Frpm AF Daily Report 18 SEP 08

Up and Coming: The force of 1,100 UAV pilots that the Air Force anticipates building by Fiscal 2012 will be no token group. In fact, this set of fliers will be second in size only to the service's F-16 pilot community, Brig. Gen. Lyn Sherlock, director of air operations on the Air Staff, said Tuesday at AFA's Air & Space Conference (see below). Sherlock said the Air Force has "a little over 450" operators of Predator and Reaper UAVs today. "In the next couple of years, we are going to double that number," she said during a press briefing. Those pilots will be flying these UAVs "directly in support of the warfighter," she said. Additional pilots will be added on top of that to provide expertise in UAV matters in air operations centers and on command staffs, thereby bringing the total to 1,100, she said.

Rated to Fly: The Predator and Reaper operators that the Air Forces wants to churn out of its new UAV pilot training program starting next year (see below) will not be rated pilots in the service's traditional sense of the phrase, but they will be qualified to fly and operate these multi-mission platforms safely and effectively, including in civil airspace, Brig. Gen. Darrell Jones, director of force management policy on the Air Staff, said Tuesday at AFA's Air & Space Conference. During a briefing with reporters, Jones said the UAV operators that the Air Force has used to date have been rated pilots who have graduated from specialized undergraduate pilot training and are qualified to operate a certain type of manned platform such as an F-16.Under one facet of a new program, Jones said officers of various career fields and experience levels—but not flight experience—up through the rank of captain would be trained as UAV operators. The Air Force "will work the FAA issues" so that the new crop of UAV pilots "are able to operate the Predators in national airspace and meet all of the requirements that the FAA and international organizations would impose upon anyone who flies an aircraft of that size in their airspace," he said. In the past, the Air Force has used only rated officers to operate its larger sized, multi-mission UAVs like Predator and Reaper since instrument-qualified pilots were necessary to fly in FAA- and ICAO-controlled airspace. Further, the Air Force held the view that rated officers were better prepared to deal with the demands of operating these complex systems under difficult battlefield conditions, including flying in proximity to manned aircraft and employing weapons in time-sensitive scenarios.

[BadPvtDan]

Why does it suck? That person is still serving the USAF in a needed capacity. Service before self.

Additionally, the way life works out isn't usually how we plan it. Some of my friends who fly heavies wanted fighters and afterward said they wouldn't want to fly anything but a heavy now. My best friend(helo pilot) tried to get heavies but was forced into helos and is having the time of his life with his bird.

I've maintained all along that flying UAVs isn't a glamorous job and I understand not wanting to do it, but it IS necessary and they serve a valuable role in the current war as well as future wars. The imaginary person in your scenario should be satisfied knowing they were in the top of the country to make it to the AFA, top of the criteria to make to UPT and were able to earn their wings and serve their country. Not everyone gets that opportunity for one reason or another.

I agree with Mike here. I am looking at rejoining the Guard and everyone stresses about branching what they want. I want to branch Infantry...and Infantry alone...if they branch me into Finance I won't be a happy camper. You can be sure I probably won't stay in Finance either.

These guys in the Academy probably feel that a lot more acutely than I do.

[SMOC]

I agree with Mike here. I am looking at rejoining the Guard and everyone stresses about branching what they want. I want to branch Infantry...and Infantry alone...if they branch me into Finance I won't be a happy camper. You can be sure I probably won't stay in Finance either.

These guys in the Academy probably feel that a lot more acutely than I do.

It's just a difference of opinion. I subscribe to the idea that if I'm applying to enter the US military I'm aware that it's on their terms and my placing will depend on needs of the service. If I wanted to a pilot and they made me a services troop, sure I would be disappointed but there are bigger disappointments in life. Again, one of my closest friends wanted to be a cop in the USAF and they made him Command Post. Now he can't imagine doing any other job and loves it. I would just be happy to serve for the large picture(and like you said, I'm sure I would do what I could to move into a career field I WANTED to be in).

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In olden times, a thousand years ago, it was possible to cross-train. I don't know how easy it is to do that today. You do reach a point where you wind up behind your peers in some career areas. In those areas, experience is a large part of trying to succeed. Once you miss a few years it is more difficult to get caught up. The best example would be the reason you have proficiency requirements (as in regular flying) or I would image trying a case in court for lawyers. You also have retraining required in some systems. It takes extra work to outgrow your 'newbie' label if you are out of a field for a while.

[Ford Friendly]

"needs of the service" always sounded like a cop out to me.

Of course, "the service" has specific needs. However, there are such things as commitments made and not honored in the name of "needs of the service".

"Guaranteed" tours, schools and job assignments are routinely promised and then cancelled based on the needs of each service.

Call me cynical. It still sounds like a cop out to me.

[MIKE JG]

One negative that comes to mind right away would be the guy who planned to fly aircraft in the service and then retire and go into private aviation as a pilot. But if he gets assigned UAVs, I can't see how that will help him achieve his goal of flying professionally after getting out.

Hmmm......wonder how employers will look at UAV operator time as far as logged flight time?

Lots of questions right now, not many answers. One of you guys was talking about bringing a Warrant Officer program back to the USAF specifically to operate UAVs. I certainly think that is the best way to handle it but I don't think that is going to happen in this case.

[SMOC]

One negative that comes to mind right away would be the guy who planned to fly aircraft in the service and then retire and go into private aviation as a pilot. But if he gets assigned UAVs, I can't see how that will help him achieve his goal of flying professionally after getting out.

Hmmm......wonder how employers will look at UAV operator time as far as logged flight time?

Lots of questions right now, not many answers. One of you guys was talking about bringing a Warrant Officer program back to the USAF specifically to operate UAVs. I certainly think that is the best way to handle it but I don't think that is going to happen in this case.

Mike,

WOs was something I brought up but has also been brought up within the USAF as a possible solution. And since they're talking about making a UAV AFSC, it does make sense to have tactical and technical experts who would spend their entire career doing UAV related activities be the ones flying those birds. But the USAF didn't ask me for my opinion.

As far as entering the service to go private one day... that's not up to the USAF. It's not their responsibility to train someone to be effective post service. It's their job to make someone serviceable and productive during their time in the USAF. If they want to be civilian fliers, they should learn on civilian time and civilian dime. Their time in UAVs WILL be a marketable tool in the civilian world and will lead to DOD/contractor positions. That won't help them with flying civilian but again, it's not the USAF responsibility to train someone to fly for Northwest.

@Ford,

Needs of the service is never hidden when you sign the dotted line. You know it up front and if you choose to commit to the US military, then you understand that at any moment orders can be changed or canceled. I won't argue that it seems like a cop out and I've never been able to figure out where they draw their criterion from but it is what it is.

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Their time in UAVs WILL be a marketable tool in the civilian world and will lead to DOD/contractor positions. That won't help them with flying civilian but again, it's not the USAF responsibility to train someone to fly for Northwest.

I think it already is a marketable skill. I saw a new item on TV right after Hurricane Ike. They were talking with two UAV pilots operating in support of the recovery effort. They were both Civilians.

[BadPvtDan]

You can float patriotism and apple pie all you want but you're just not going to get the best and brightest with that program. A kid dreams of flying F16s and not UAVs...that's what FS9 is for:)

I actually read a passage in my Economics book last night how the army and navy have institued a "pricing system" that allows soldiers and even units to choose things like duty stations. They're doing this to maintain retention. It's important and I'll bet we will see some fallout in the years to come.

[SMOC]

You can float patriotism and apple pie all you want but you're just not going to get the best and brightest with that program. A kid dreams of flying F16s and not UAVs...that's what FS9 is for:)

I actually read a passage in my Economics book last night how the army and navy have institued a "pricing system" that allows soldiers and even units to choose things like duty stations. They're doing this to maintain retention. It's important and I'll bet we will see some fallout in the years to come.

Dan,

I can only speak for myself. I'm not trying to speak for you, Mike or anyone else. Tip of spear, behind the scenes or at a console, the mission is meaningful. I'd be proud to any of it. For others, if all they want to do if fly fighters then by all means give it a shot... but if that individual doesn't get it than make the best of the situation. And if they really won't... join the ANG so you KNOW what you're signing up to fly.

Allowing units to choose a duty station is kind of ridiculous. To some degree personnel have always had a say in where they get stationed using their dream sheets. And some places are only going to get filled using voluntolds. But again, this is all the price one pays for signing the line.

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We used to say, "If you can't take a joke, you shouldn't have joined."

Who knows? With evolution it may become one of the most desired career fields. Depends on personality, publicity, and pay for the most part. Some of the computer-generation may leap at the chance to fly.

[MIKE JG]

"Voluntolds"......... Nice, I've never heard that before but that's probably a good term for certain situations.

Another question is how long will we need UAV pilots? Seems to me like every episode of Futureweapons I watch, they talk about autonomous UAVs being the next greatest thing. Just point and click the mouse and the machine does that rest. Not sure where a "pilot" fits into that equation. "Operator" might be a more accurate term.

Either way it just seems kinda silly to put these folks these folks through UPT if they never leave the ground after that. I guess you have to get the "voluntolds" from somewhere and UPT grads certainly have the flying qualifications.

BTW, I'd love to have a civilian UAV operator job right now. Beats sleeping in crappy hotels and eating bad food all the time.

[MIKE JG]

I'm also curious as to how UAVs fit into the National Airspace System these days. Are their "operators" flying VFR essentially all the time or are they able to receive and follow ATC instructions like a real aircraft would?