Word: airs
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...demand for drone drivers is so great, Schwartz noted, that even retired officers may be recalled to fill the ranks. Some also argue that the Air Force ought to end the practice of regarding only officers, retired or otherwise, as eligible to operate drones. They point out that enlisted Army personnel fly that service's unmanned aircraft, and that enlisted airmen are known to spend a lot of time playing video games - a key skill in this line of work. "It does not take a commissioned officer with a university and leadership background, and years of training flying fighters...
...photos of the history of the Air Force here
...failure to wipe out the militant sanctuaries on its soil, Washington decided earlier this month to take matters into its own hands. The first known ground assault of the campaign, staged by U.S. Special Operations troops in Angoor Adda, a village in South Waziristan, was followed by stepped up air strikes on suspected militants by pilotless drones. Pentagon officials had suggested in recent weeks that the U.S. would be "testing" the new Pakistani government by stepping up its attacks in western Pakistan to gauge Islamabad's reaction. Previously, U.S. actions had been been limited to launching missile strikes...
...launched six air strikes into the tribal areas in the course of this month alone, the latest coming on Sept. 17 at a suspected militant training camp in South Waziristan. For all their insistence on sovereignty, the Pakistani army has not reacted militarily, nor has the government taken steps to break off diplomatic ties. Their only complaint, military analysts said, is over the use of ground troops. For the past six years, the CIA has routinely flown pilotless drones over Pakistan's tribal areas to collect intelligence and fire at select targets. Only when attacks have claimed large-scale civilian...
...While this month's air strikes have passed with only comment from the Pakistan army, fears of a U.S.-Pakistan confrontation were sparked on Sept. 16 by media reports that Pakistani paramilitary troops may have fired warning shots to prevent U.S. military helicopters from returning to Angoor Adda. The Pakistan army swiftly denied the incident. "The helicopters did not enter Pakistani territory and the Pakistan army did not do the firing," says Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the military's chief spokesman. "The firing was done by local Waziri tribesmen...