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Ft. Huachuca explains unmanned aircraft training

Posted at 3:53 PM, May 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-25 18:59:33-04
Soldiers at Fort Huachuca train for danger and what they learn is crucial for our country's defense. Fort Huachuca is home to the only unmanned aircraft training center.
 
These aircrafts not only give the opportunity for unprecedented surveillance, but - also the ability to launch missiles to attack enemy forces without putting brave men and women directly in harm's way. 
 
One button can launch an attack from the air and a look at the screens can show impeccable surveillance from the sky.

"We have capabilities that other aircrafts simply don't," said Sgt. Vincent Varvil. 
 
Sgt. Varvil is an instructor for the unmanned aircraft program and said, one of those capabilities is endurance. 
 
"We will be there before other assets arrive on station and we'll will still be there when those assets leave," Sgt. Varvil. 
 
Sgt. Varvil usually teaching junior enlisted soldiers how to become a pilot from scratch. 
 
"It's a little nerve-racking at first," Sgt. Varvil explained. "When it's your very first time because you're thinking - 'Hey, I'm flying this, this essentially multi-million, expensive aircraft and you don't want to be the one to crash it."
 
Four instructors are always around to make sure no unmanned aircraft goes too far off course. 
 
"Essentially, [we] go through the buttons... go through the different capabilities that are provided by each menu and each piece of software," Staff Sgt. Joseph Miller explained. "And by the end of the course or the simulator portion they're able to fly an aircraft from start to finish and usually handle anything thrown at 'em."
 
After four weeks of mission systems, 12 simulator rides and three to four months on the flight line - their screens can be switched out for real-life scenarios.