On Killing Remotely: The Psychology of Killing with Drones

by Wayne Phelps (USMC Ret.)

Overview

A “can’t-miss for anyone interested in current military affairs,” On Killing Remotely reveals and explores the costs—to individual soldiers and to society—of the way we wage war today (Kirkus Reviews, starred). 

Throughout history society has determined specific rules of engagement between adversaries in armed conflict.  With advances in technology, from armor to in the Middle Ages to nerve gas in World War I to weapons of mass destruction in our own time, the rules have constantly evolved.  Today, when killing the enemy can seem palpably risk-free and tantamount to playing a violent video game, what constitutes warfare?  What is the effect of remote combat on individual soldiers?  And what are the unforeseen repercussions that could affect us all?

 
Lt Col Wayne Phelps, former commander of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft unit, addresses these questions and many others as he tells the story of the men and women of today’s “chair force.”  Exploring the ethics of remote military engagement, the misconceptions about PTSD among RPA operators, and the specter of military weaponry controlled by robots, his book is an urgent and compelling reminder that it should always be difficult to kill another human being lest we risk losing what makes us human.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316628297
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	06/08/2021
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	339,624
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Lt Col Kenneth Wayne Phelps (USMC, Retired) served five deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2012. His military career coincided with the escalating use of drones as weapons, and in the two years prior to his retirement in 2018 he served as commanding officer of four Unmanned Aircraft System teams abroad to fight violent extremist organizations.

Table of Contents

Introduction A Predator Hunts for Bin Laden xiii

Section I Understanding Remotely Piloted Aircraft

Chapter 1 The Evolution of Killing from a Distance 3

Chapter 2 An Insatiable Appetite: Rise of the Robots 21

Chapter 3 The Machines 35

Chapter 4 The People 49

Chapter 5 The Missions 68

Chapter 6 The Methods 81

Section II A Spectrum of Responses to Killing with RPAs

Chapter 1 How Do We Kill with RPAs? 109

Chapter 2 How Do We Respond to Killing Remotely? 123

Chapter 3 Who Is Most Affected by Killing Remotely?: The Demographics 136

Section III All Topics Considered

Chapter 1 Are We at War? 151

Chapter 2 RPA and the Warrior Ethos 169

Chapter 3 Dehumanizing the Enemy Versus Intimacy with the Target 183

Chapter 4 Distance from the Target 201

Chapter 5 Sleep and Mental Armor 211

Chapter 6 Demands of Authority: Everyone's in the Cockpit 226

Chapter 7 Group Absolution: Killing as a Crew 241

Chapter 8 Target Attractiveness 257

Section IV Barriers, Help, and the Future

Chapter 1 The Video Game Comparison 275

Chapter 2 Culture 289

Chapter 3 A Toolbox of Best Practices 304

Chapter 4 Where Do We Go from Here?: Future Killer Robots 317

Acknowledgments 323

Bibliography 327

Index 333

Editorial Reviews

03/22/2021

Military veterans Phelps and Grossman (On Killing) deliver an in-depth yet uneven exploration of the psychological toll of drone warfare on the crewmembers of remotely piloted aircraft, or RPA. Drawing on surveys and interviews with RPA personnel, the authors argue that while drones seem to be a much cheaper and more convenient option for the military, the cost “is paid by the employee’s mental health as opposed to the employer’s dollar.” They describe how RPA crewmembers, many of whom live in the U.S. and work long hours in isolated shifts, become “emotionally invested” in their missions, despite their physical distance from the scene of combat, and suffer from PTSD and sleep deprivation. The authors also discuss how RPA crewmembers deal with the collective responsibility of killing, and note that one squadron refused to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda imam with American citizenship, because they considered the order illegal. (Al-Awlaki was later killed in a CIA-directed drone strike.) Alternating between dry, acronym-heavy jargon and jocular phrasing (“this isn’t your granddaddy’s war”), Phelps and Grossman sidestep accusations that drone strikes are “indiscriminate, illegal, and immoral killings,” but convincingly argue that RPA crews deserve the respect and consideration afforded to frontline soldiers. This well-intentioned study misfires. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"A penetrating look inside the military units operating armed drones on remote battlefields around the world…Drone warfare is seemingly ubiquitous, and Phelps delivers a clear report on how it works and how it affects the users. A can’t-miss for anyone interested in current military affairs."—Kirkus Reviews

“An essential read…We have crossed a new frontier in the age-old story of war.”—P. W. Singer, author of Wired for War and Ghost Fleet

“The most impressive and comprehensive account of 21st-century remote air warfare…A mesmerizing read: I was gripped from the first page to the last.”—Professor Peter Lee, author of Reaper Force

“A crucial 360° look at how remote warfare affects the crews fighting from afar.”—Major Scott Swanson, USAF (retired)

“Phelps pulls back the curtain on the high-demand RPA force…An insightful look at a uniquely gifted community of warriors.”—Lt. General Robert F. Hedelund, USMC

“The psychology of RPA combat is as secretive as the airframes themselves—remote, mysterious, and hard to find… This book should be required reading for all warriors.”—Karen House, MA, MSW, LMSW, LPC

“Phelps brings a crucial voice of analytical nuance…Insightful and thought-provoking.”
 —Ian MacLeod, former co-chair of the International Panel on the Regulation of Autonomous Weapons

“A seminal work in understanding the toll that killing remotely takes on the people who operate and support lethal remotely piloted aircraft.”—Major General James Poss, USAF (retired)

“An extraordinary achievement…Destined to become a classic.”—Mitt Regan, Georgetown University Law Center

From the Publisher

★ 2021-03-17
A penetrating look inside the military units operating armed drones on remote battlefields around the world.

Phelps, a former Marine who served five deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, works from—and expands on—the principles laid out in Dave Grossman’s On Killing (1995), which investigated the intense psychological forces affecting troops involved in lethal action. The author draws heavily on interviews with members of the armed forces who operate remotely piloted aircraft, as drones are officially known. The military has always sought to increase the distance from which it attacks enemy forces, if only as a way to protect its own soldiers. From spears and arrows to artillery, aircraft, and long-range missiles, the distance has grown steadily over time. From that perspective, RPAs are a natural progression. Phelps, who has commanded multiple Unmanned Aircraft System teams, takes pains to contest the flawed perception that using RPAs is equivalent to playing computer games. The warriors who fire their weapons have often spent weeks or months observing their targets, waiting for a time when there is no risk of killing bystanders. They may know more about their targets than their own next-door neighbors, and they see with unusual clarity what happens after they “pull the trigger.” Inevitably, there is an often devastating emotional effect. Add to that the conditions under which they work, often serving long shifts that lead to dangerous sleep deprivation. Nor does their culture encourage them to seek help for the crushing mental stress. Furthermore, even as the number of RPA operators has dramatically increased, they are still treated as less important than “real” pilots or soldiers who are directly exposed to enemy fire. Phelps provides ample quotations from RPA operators as well as detailed reports of their necessary work. Drone warfare is seemingly ubiquitous, and the author delivers a clear report on how it works and how it affects the users.

A can’t-miss for anyone interested in current military affairs.

Kirkus Reviews