Been a long while since I've posted anything. Guess that means I am less disgruntled recently. Does that make me more gruntled? Anyway... on to the business at hand. We Aviators are pretty cool... Just ask one of us, we'll tell you. That being said, I am going to go out on a limb and say that I can speak for most of my aviation breathren by voicing a collective "What the...?" at the news that UAV operators will now be elligible to receive Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air Medals, and aviation qualification badges. Granted, I will personally never likely wear a DFC or Air Medal. But I am pretty sure I earned the Aviator Qualification Badge on my chest. I cheated death daily for a year to earn that badge (ask my old instructor pilots, they will confirm that). Giving aviator qualification badges to someone who only risks impacting the earth if they trip out of the control van just makes no sense to me, and frankly, lessens the accomplishments of generations of aviators who have not only earned their wings, but the medals for valor that UAV pilots are now apparently entitled to. I have a friend who refused a recommendation for an Air Medal while performing duties in the back of a UH-60 in the Balkans because he wouldn't be able to face his father, who earned his as a UH-1 pilot under fire over the mountains and rice paddies of Vietnam. Now people who never even break the bonds of gravity are eligible. The comparison almost seems like a joke. Hat tip to RofaSix.Labels: Air Medal, Aviation, Distinguished Flying Cross, UAV
