A new Pentagon study contrasting the mental-health concerns of pilots who actually climb into the cockpit – as opposed to military UAS pilots who sit at desks – shows that land-based pilots suffer 60% more mental-health maladies than their flying counterparts.
But after adjusting the data for age, number of deployments, time in service, and prior mental-health problems, “there was no significant difference in the rates of mental health diagnoses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive disorders, and anxiety disorders between remotely piloted aircraft and manned aircraft pilots,” the study said.
The report, in the March issue of the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report said it “is the first to document the frequencies, incidence rates, and trends of mental health outcomes among remotely-piloted aircraft pilots within the active component of the USAF, and how these rates compare to those among manned aircraft pilots (fixed wing and rotary wing) and among airmen in other USAF occupations during the same time period.”
UAS operators tend to work at stateside bases, and return to their homes at the end of their shifts, unlike most manned-aircraft pilots, who are forward deployed into war zones. Relations between the two communities aren’t always smooth: in one of his final acts as Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta sparked a firestorm among military traditionalists when he created the Distinguished Warfare Medal, to be awarded to UAS operators and others who perform extraordinary acts without endangering themselves in combat. New Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a review of the medal and its ranking above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
The study, by Pentagon medical researchers Jean Otto and Bryant Webber, listed the pressures faced by UAS pilots:
Along with witnessing traumatic experiences, such as those associated with PTSD in traditional combat, remotely-piloted aircraft crew members may face several additional challenges, some of which may be unique to telewarfare: lack of deployment rhythm and of combat compartmentalisation (i.e., a clear demarcation between combat and personal/family life); fatigue and sleep disturbances secondary to shift work; austere geographic locations of military installations supporting remotely-piloted aircraft missions; social isolation during work, which could diminish unit cohesion and thereby increase susceptibility to PTSD; and sedentary behaviour with prolonged screen time, implicated as psychological challenges in the adult video gaming community.
The study found:
– “Approximately 8.2 percent of remotely-piloted aircraft pilots and 6.0 percent of manned aircraft pilots had at least one mental-health outcome” including adjustment disorder, alcohol abuse, anxiety disorder and depression.
– “The incidence rates of all mental-health outcomes among remotely-piloted aircraft pilots was 25.0 per 1,000 person-years and among manned aircraft pilots was 15.9 per 1,000 person-years.”
– “Between October 2003 and December 2011, approximately one of every 12 remotely-piloted aircraft pilots and one of every 17 manned aircraft pilots received at least one incident mental-health outcome (i.e., first diagnosis of the outcome during their military careers).”
While the raw data suggested that UAS pilots suffer greater mental-health issues than manned pilots, the study’s authors decided to call it a draw: “In summary, the findings of this report suggest that remote combat does not increase the risk of mental-health outcomes beyond that seen in traditional combat,” the report concluded. “Military policymakers and clinicians should recognize that remotely-piloted aircraft pilots have a similar mental health risk profile as manned aircraft pilots.”
Source: Nation Time
Does this study cover the entire UAS pilot history? Meaning in the beginning of the UAS employment, many pilots were not former military aviators as is the course of current maneuver scheme. Also does this mean the trend to use student pilot candidates to UAS training mean the lack of flight time is a factor. What are the other services seeing? Is it a situation based more on the type – size, capability of the UAS or is it uniform. The brain being used to fly an aircraft intuitively means the same kind of use and failure modes regardless of the aircraft. When will we integrate the pilots & aircrews as one flying force?