The air is hot and stuffy inside the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ground control trailer at FOB Masum Ghar, located in the heart of southern Afghanistan. Two soldiers from the 205th Military Intelligence Company deftly pilot their unmanned aerial vehicle over the wastes of the Panjwai District searching for targets, while Brigade Sgt. Maj. Steve Knott vigilantly watches over their shoulders.
The tension lining the men’s faces is a visible reminder of how stressful their three-month tour has been. The UAV crew has been tasked with overwatching a company of infantry, silently moving through the fields and grape-rows surrounding a high value target compound and preparing for their assault. In the trailer, Knott is straining his eyes, looking for anything out of the ordinary, no easy task given the grainy resolution of the screens.
Suddenly the sergeant major leans forward and jubilantly shouts, “Right there!” before jabbing his finger at the screen. The air is electric with excitement, and the pilots deftly reorient the drone’s cameras to focus on their prey.
Thousands of feet below the aircraft, the image clears to reveal Private First Class Todd Armstrong. The soldier is struggling to climb over a low wall that had just been cleared for IEDs, pulling security with his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), and simultaneously maintaining a low silhouette while carrying almost 70 lbs of gear.
