The Changing Dynamic of War: Protecting Our Soldiers
Technology continues to change the
dynamic of warfare. One daunting task
our government faces is trying to protect our freedom as well as the soldiers
who fight for it. With this in mind, drones are an effective way to improve the
overall welfare of American soldiers.
First,
we must consider that war is not black and white. Neither is drone use. Drone pilots will still face some hardship. Since drone operators’
work from computers, the people responsible for locating, tracking and killing
enemy combatants are on now American soil.
According to an NPR article, returning home to their families after a
days work isn’t easy. “The Air
Force says switching back and forth between such different realities presents
unique psychological challenges.” While this is certainly something to
consider, it is important weigh these ideas comparatively. Although the NPR article can mislead one into
thinking that drones are simply a bad option because of the psychological
effects they put of pilots, consider this. According to our lecture, only about
4% of drone pilots experienced PTSD- like symptoms (PTSD, Shirk). But an article posted on a military website
titled “Veterans Statistics: PTSD, Depression, TBI, and Suicide” illustrates a
study conducted by the Congressional Research service that shows that at least
20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans return home with some form of PTSD. In other words, for every four soldiers who
experience PTSD from war, only one drone pilot does. This also means that
transitioning our conventional warfare towards targeted killings could reduce
the effects of PTSD significantly. An even more profound statistics released by
the VA shows an estimated 22 veterans commit suicide each day (Veterans and
PTSD). In my research, I could not find
a single instance of a drone pilot committing suicide as a result of PTSD.
Aside from reducing the effects of PTSD, drones save lives in other ways. Being able to eliminate an
enemy combatant from a computer controlled airplane prevents ground troops from
carrying out dangerous “capture and kill” missions. A Foreign Affairs article written by Daniel
Byman estimates that 3,300 Al Queda, Jhadist and Taliban operatives have been
killed by the use of drones in the past decade or so. Think about how many missions it would take
to eliminate this many enemies’ using ground soldiers. Then consider the risks involved in each
mission. It would be astronomical. And the US would almost inevitably suffer casualties.
The United States government spends
millions of dollars helping soldiers recover. Rightfully so, helping soldiers
recuperate from war has become one of the larger expenses of war. The use of
drones can improve the psychological health of soldiers, prevent the death of American soldiers and save the American government money. Drones are an essential part of warfare and must continue to be used effectively to ensure the safety of our country as well as our soldiers.
I agree that drones have been a useful tool in the War on Terror and often a better option than sending ground forces into dangerous areas. I fully support their continued and widespread use.
ReplyDeleteRelated to PTSD and drone pilots, I found it interesting that one of the contributing factors to drone pilot PTSD is that they are not living with and surrounded by fellow soldiers with whom they have shared similar experiences. For soldiers overseas at war this environment gives them people that they can easily talk to and relate to. Drone pilots are likely unable to do this with their families. It will be interesting to see if the military finds a way to address this problem.
I also read Daniel Byman's Foreign Affairs article but I viewed his kill count somewhat skeptically given the difficultly that has been shown in determining who the people were that were killed and how many actually were killed. Even the most prominent sources and databases have been shown to rely on questionable sources and counting practices.
It seems really hard to argue that drones aren't a better option for United States soldiers, for all of the reasons that you mention. We should keep in mind that just because these people are living at home and not on the front lines, doesn't mean that their experiences are imagined. To a certain extent though (and it sounds bad to say this, but bear with me), I would be very concerned if these drone pilots DIDN'T experience some sort of psychological trauma. The fact that the pilots are very affected by the experiences they have, shows that they haven't forgotten the gravity of what they are doing. If soldiers were completely fine from an emotional standpoint after killing someone -- albeit someone on the other side of the world -- that would seem like reason for concern.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. War will always carry with it some emotional trauma. The main point I was trying to make in my article is that although drones do not ELIMINATE PTSD, statistically, its an improvement from the traditional warfare we have used in the past (consider the 20% vs. 4% i talked about in the article). But yes, it seems impossible to completely eliminate all the psychological factors that war brings upon people. This is just a better alternative.
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