Air Force cuts drone flights as pilots burn out

CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. – After a decade of waging long-distance war through their video screens, America’s drone operators are burning out, and the Air Force is being forced to cut back on the flights even as military and intelligence officials are demanding more over intensifying combat zones in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

The Air Force plans to trim the flights by the armed surveillance drones to 60 a day by October from a recent peak of 65 as it deals with the first serious exodus of the crew members who helped usher in a new era of war by remote control.

http://www.startribune.com/air-force-cuts-drone-flights-as-pilots-burn-out/307738861/