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Flying UAVs in Nevada

dimsum

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Found this post on another forum and thought it was a great response to the argument that "UAV pilots can go home after their shift instead of being deployed away from their family."  No wonder some UAV folks in Creech AFB and other places are starting to show negative signs; imagine being "deployed" for essentially 3 years.

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Drive to work. See bad guy. Look for good guy. See bad guy's family (bad guy is at home). Sunrise - Go home.

Sleep - can't sleep, next door neighbour's afternoon lawn-mowing commences.

Doze, wake with Dog barking across road, playing with local kids....doze..

Wake with alarm - and own family now going to bed. Drive to work (dodge Saturday midnight Vegas traffic). A lonely 45 minutes up the I-95, a VERY lonely 45 minutes...

Midnight, arrive at work, alertness questionable - day 517 of the tour (days 1 to 516 blurr into a ground-hog moment).

...see bad guy (again). Look for good guy. Chat with good guy. - reassure good guy. Lose Bad Guy - Sh1t...bugga...sh1t......find bad guy.....pfheww! - don't relax....bad guy has something.....Get 9 line. (the rest I will leave to your imagination).

Sunrise - Drive home - mix with morning church going traffic on way to a quiet beer with fellow crewman. Church goers pray for things. I do not. I just want a quiet beer. Arrive at 'local' watering hole - same old crowd from Sat night - mostly incomprehendible. Chat with fellow 'RPA dude' over the cold beer. Quetly chat about what they did tonight. Have breakfast with beer. - Day 516 over.

Leave Bar - someone has paid for beer and breakfast (they remain anonymous). Get home. - Quietly, as family still in bed, it is Sunday morning, and the 7th birthday party is tonight.

Doze for a while until children's party. Dream about that live shot < 7 hours ago. Wake up and wrap present. Enjoy party. Kiss children, wife and dog, get into flying suit and go back to work.

Another lonely drive - this time with a slight tear in the eye. - miss his family already.

......see good guy, look for bad guy. No bad guy today - just a funeral.


Day 517, and the tour is half way over.
 
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