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Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), commonly referred to as “drones,” have emerged over the past decade as an innovative warfighting tool. Given there is a paucity of empirical research assessing drone operators, the purpose of this study was to assess for the prevalence of PTSD symptoms among this cohort. Of the 1084 United States Air ForceRead more

Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA; also known as drone) operators have critical roles in the U.S. Air Force (USAF), ranging from intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions to delivering weapons on targets for close air support and precision strike operations. The health and wellness of RPA operators are critical to sustaining performance readiness. As a result, theRead more

U.S. Air Force Distributed Common Ground System intelligence operators have a critical role in the analyses and exploitation of vast amounts of real-time and archival auditory and visual information from the battlefield and other global regions of national interest. The health and wellness of these airmen are key to sustaining intelligence capabilities and readiness acrossRead more

This study investigates the self-reported levels of occupational burnout among 1,094 U.S. Air Force drone operators stationed within the borders of the United States who are supporting a wide range of around-the-clock military surveillance and weapons strike missions across the globe. Data were gathered from a Web-based survey of demographic items and the Maslach BurnoutRead more

The goal of this study is to repeat a survey administered in 2010 to assess for changes in mental health among United States Air Force aircrew operating Predator/Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, also commonly referred to as “drones.” Participants were assessed for self-reported sources of occupational stress, levels of clinical distress using the Outcome Questionnaire-45.2, andRead more

The U.S. Air Force relies upon the C-17 Globemaster aircraft and aircrew for the effective and strategic transportation of materials, supplies, and manpower to sustain a diverse number of missions. This study utilized a web-based occupational health screening survey to examine the main sources of occupational stress and levels of psychological distress among active dutyRead more

The United States Air Force (USAF) MQ-1 Predator has emerged as a dominant weapons-bearing “drone” aircraft. Predator pilots have become critical assets in a challenging, high-risk, and rapidly evolving career field. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combination of cognitive and neuropsychological aptitudes (MAB-II and MicroCog), as well as personality traits (NEO-PI-R)Read more

The present study examined the utility of cognitive and non-cognitive psychological testing to predict training completion in 1,003 air traffic controller (ATC) trainees. The results of predictive modeling indicate that pre-training personality testing, as measured by the Emotional Quotient Inventory, may significantly add predictive validity to predicting graduation from training beyond the predictive validity ofRead more