"My first strike was January 28th, 2013, at 6:49 in the morning. It ended up being a cave in the middle of nowhere, and there was a handful of people there that they wanted us to take out."
"Every thought that was going through my mind was all about the technical aspects of the employment, you know, of shooting that weapon. There wasn't much as far as being able to stop and think, 'Wow, I'm about to take a life'."
"You're making life or death calls every single day."
"There's not a single game in the world that can prep you for what you're going to do, and the decisions that you're going to have to make, and the high-caliber level that you're going to have to operate at."
Tanner Yackley enlisted in the US Air Force in 2010 at age 18 and was discharged in 2018 after eight years of service. He logged over 3,000 combat hours as a drone sensor operator while based in the United States, remotely controlling drones overseas via real-time video. His first strike occurred on January 28, 2013, targeting a cave. Immediate focus centered on technical execution rather than emotional reaction. The role required daily life-or-death decisions and is not comparable to playing video games. Years of sustained operational tempo and emotional strain led to burnout and his departure from the service.
Read at Business Insider
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