STRESSORS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON DRONE OPERATORS
As compared to manned aircraft pilots, who carry out the mission after taking specific orders from their superiors, drone pilots are more deliberate in their strikes. They generally indulge in surveillance in a state of heightened vigilance for prolonged durations which may extend from weeks to days. They along with their teams remain glued to screen showing images of different time zones for long hours. Unlike, manned aircrafts they do not have to “commute to the battle field” and may not experience the adrenaline rush or thrill of accomplishing the mission. In fact, they are generally thought to have outsourced the risk. Unlike, traditional pilots and judgmental errors of drone operators are not easily condoned as they have more time to study their targets. Unlike fighter pilots, drone operators continue observation after the strikes to assess the extent of damage. They may be exposed to disturbing imagery of death and destruction.[13] It is especially important as the team would have studied the routine life of the targets and may have even started getting psychologically connected with them. Unlike traditional fighter pilot, they may not be able to share their experience with their colleagues and may remain anonymous. They may also not get adulation of the population; they serve despite achieving the objective. For obvious reasons, coveted titles such as bravery, courage, valor, honesty, or integrity may not be applicable for drone operators and their teams and hence may miss recognition or gallantry awards. Instead, drone operators and their team members may rather match profile of a nerd who is generally seen as an overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted person with undue interest in highly technical or abstract things.[14] Military commanders may have to make concessions for their unusual skills but it may not happen at all times. One of the narratives strongly rooted in popular and academic perception is that their actions match playing a video game. The very act of striking a target or distant killing creates a “PlayStation mentality” with joystick as a trigger.[15]
Variety of studies conducted on drone crew have consistently proved higher incidence of psychiatric symptoms than their compatriots who operate manned aircrafts.[16,17,18,19] Majority of studies were conducted on Reaper and Global Hawk drone operators which are weaponized drones. Around 46%–48% of them suffered from significant psychiatric symptoms which were severe enough to affect their job performance or family life. The main psychiatric symptoms ranged from sadness, guilt, poor concentration, irritability, anxiety, and sleep disturbance. 8.2% of this population received their first mental health diagnosis within 24 months of starting drone operations. The most common diagnosis was adjustment disorders, depressive disorders, relationship problems, and life circumstances requiring counseling. The incidence of PTSD among USAF drone operators in this study was lower than rates of PTSD (10%–18%) among military personnel returning from deployment but higher than incidence rates (<1%) of USAF drone operators reported in electronic medical records.[20] Long working hours, age younger than 25 and tenure of more than 24 months correlated positively with the incidence of PTSD in drone operators. Witnessing death of bystanders after the strike was also found to be a risk factor for the development of PTSD in this population. Intelligence coordinators, when assessed separately with Vicarious Combat Exposure Scale, revealed that 12.9% and 39% of them reported high and moderate combat exposure, respectively. Rotating shift work and working more than 50 h per week were found to be positively associated with the incidence of PTSD in this population.[21,22]