A British Reaper sensor operator from the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Kandahar on November 5. Photo from Wired.Homeland Security Stymied By Shortage Of UAV Pilots -- Next Gov
The Customs and Border Protection is relying more on unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the U.S. borders, but the bureau has had trouble finding trained pilots to remotely fly the aircraft, a Homeland Security Department official told Congress on Thursday.
The use of UAVs has expanded from primarily the military to homeland security, with CBP using the vehicles to scan the border for illegal immigrants and to support disaster relief operations. DHS patrols parts of both the southern and northern U.S. land borders as well as the maritime border, armed with long-range detection and tracking capabilities. CBP plans to steadily expand their use in coming years, and the Coast Guard also is investigating how it can use the aircraft.
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My Comment: I guess the CIA and the Air Force are grabbing all the UAV operators that they can get.... and the DHS is left with the crumbs.