Former UAV pilot speaks to Travis Airmen

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  A squadron commander from Dover Air Force Base, Del., visited Dec. 9 to brief Airmen on Unmanned Aerial Systems and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. 

Lt. Col. David Kumashiro, 436th Operations Support Squadron commander at Dover, spoke for nearly an hour to Travis Airmen regarding three years he spent in the Predator program earlier this decade. 

In addition to his own experience and statistical information about the field, Colonel Kumashiro showed videos of UAVs in combat and on missions, taking pictures from thousands of feet in the air. 

"It's not about voyeurism or warfare," he said. Coordination of air strikes is "the most important thing we do in Predator." 

Later, Colonel Kumashiro talked about his experience serving the UAS field in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also showed a video of UAVs in flight during combat. 

The colonel said the UAS is where the future of the Air Force lies and it's on the cutting edge of advancements, "to keep us as the No. 1 Air Force in the world." 

"You are inventing the wheel with Predator," he told the crowd. "Think of it like the Wright Flyer of the 21st century." 

The colonel said one major challenge facing the UAS in the future is manning. He noted that the program is currently several hundred pilots short of where it needs to be and that the number is expected to rise to 1,400 by 2011. 

In response to one question from the audience, Colonel Kumashiro said the numbers are expected to continue to rise despite the incoming presidential administration's campaign promises regarding troop drawdowns in OEF and OIF. 

"I don't think they're going out of business anytime soon," Colonel Kumashiro said.
Colonel Kip Turain, 60th Operations Group, who worked with Colonel Kumashiro on UAS while in personnel, said he thought one of the visiting speaker's finest points was about how technology continues to change. 

Colonel Kumashiro compared making the move to UAS to a person in management at the Eastman Kodak Company insisting that the business stay with disposable film cameras a little while longer and ignoring the coming tide in digital photography. 

"What Dave said about the Kodak camera or the cell phone is absolutely true," Colonel Turain said. 

Colonel Turain said he wholeheartedly believes the unmanned aircraft are the future of the Air Force. 

"You can either stick your head in the sand and ignore it or you can prepare," he said. 

"We're at the edge of the next wave in the air-breathing realm. ... There are opportunities out there and it's growing." 

Col. Mark Dillon, 60th Air Mobility Wing commander, invited Colonel Kumashiro to visit the base for the briefing. 

The purpose of the briefing, Colonel Kumashiro said, was not to recruit, but to educate and inform Airmen about the program.