Stress and Dissatisfaction in the Air Force's Remotely Piloted Aircraft Community: Focus Group Findings

Abstract

The U.S. Air Force's remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) carry out a range of functions, including gathering intelligence, conducting surveillance and reconnaissance, and launching pinpoint attacks against a variety of targets. These aircraft have been enormously successful in these missions and have denied sanctuary to those who wish to harm this nation and our allies. However, to some degree, the RPAs and those who operate them have become victims of their own success. As the aircraft have proved their worth, the demand for them has exploded. The number of missions they fly, called combat air patrols (CAPs), has increased significantly over the last decade. Even though the Air Force has increased its number of RPA units, it has been unable to keep up with demand. This problem is exacerbated by the Air Force's inability to fill the ranks of its RPA units, filling only about 80 percent of authorized pilot positions. The result is that the crews that launch, fly, and recover these aircraft work inordinately long hours, and the RPA mission is more demanding in terms of flying time than the typical traditionally manned aircraft mission. CAPs fly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and therefore RPA pilots, sensor operators (SOs), and mission intelligence coordinators (MICs) are required at all times. The Air Force response to this round-the-clock mission has been to have two to three crews work in shifts (e.g., day shift, midnight shift, and swing shift). This high operations tempo (OPTEMPO) is one feature of the RPA lifestyle that potentially causes personnel stress. Another unique feature of the RPA lifestyle is being "deployed in garrison." Most pilots, SOs, and MICs conduct combat missions from Air Force bases in the United States. While this allows RPA personnel to forgo many of the downsides of traditional overseas deployment cycles (such as being away from family and the comforts of home), deployment in garrison is not without its own stresses.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1085348

Entities

People

  • Alexander C. Hou
  • Chaitra M. Hardison
  • Christopher E Larson
  • Eyal Aharoni
  • Steven Trochlil

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Applied Psychology
  • Business Administration
  • Combat Operations
  • Employment
  • Ground Control Stations
  • Health Services
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Management Personnel
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Education
  • Military Science
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychology
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.