A US veterans’ organizations is running an advertisement in Air Force Times urging military drone operators to refuse orders to fly attack missions. This comes as the Air Force encounters trouble retaining drone operators due to the stress of the job.
The ad was funded by KnowDrones, an organization that aims to achieve an outright ban on the use of weaponized drones
Many argue that drone operators do not know what they’re getting into when they sign up for the job.
“What this ad is trying to do is to say, ‘look at this now, understand the consequences and follow your conscience and do the right thing,” KnowDrones coordinator Nick Mottern told RT. “Given the fact that the president and Congress won’t act to stop this, we’re appealing directly to the people who are being ordered to do the killing, and who have to bear the weight of this on their conscience to put a stop to it."
WNU Editor: A good number of ex-military personnel have signed this letter urging drone pilots to refuse orders to fly attack missions .... Former US military personnel urge drone pilots to walk away from controls (The Guardian). And while I doubt that this specific campaign will have an impact, it is still noteworthy because it is a sign of a trend that as drone operations continue to escalate, opposition to its use will probably also escalate.
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