Former U.S. Drone Operators Explain What It’s Like to Rain Down Death From Above

“In a drone, when you fire that missile, there’s no restart.”

As commander-in-chief, President Obama has relied heavily on targeted killings by drones to combat terrorism around the globe. To date, thousands of militants and hundreds of civilians have been killed by U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia on his watch.

But here’s the thing: Drones don’t kill people. The guys controlling them do. In an interview with NBC News, three former U.S. Air Force drone operators discuss what it’s like to be those guys. It’s by no means a favorable job description. In fact, all three seem to regret ever doing the job in the first place.  

“People think it’s a video game, but in a video game you have checkpoints, you have restart points,” one former operator says. “In a drone, when you fire that missile, there’s no restart.”