Are Drone strikes cowardly?

"Are Drone strikes cowardly?"
Depends on how they are used, and who they target.

In no way is use of armed UAS "cowardly" since it keeps our Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen along with civilians (US and otherwise) and contractors alive. Which is the whole point. Our focus is to keep our people alive to fight another day; the extremists/AQ/Daesh/etc in no way want to keep their fighters or even children alive because they have no problem sacrificing them. Using human shields, killing innocents who can't fight back, and sending mostly uneducated young adults to their deaths via suicide vest or VBIED while sitting back and watching is cowardly.

The four noted individuals may have been part of the crews that conducted strikes but they did not, themselves, do the strikes. The pilot on the crew does that not the sensor operators or whatever a "transmissions expert" is. Since they were, at one point, Airmen why didn't they bring up what they allege as killing of civilians through their chain of command? And before everyone piles on and goes "because all officers are corrupt" (read: cop out) they aren't. Is it traumatic to witness deaths during operations? Yes it is. Are civilians caught up in war and sometimes getting killed? Yes they do. Having personally been in a function that reviewed such strike, often in real time, I can say that more often than not the strikes do get shifted away to ensure civilians are not killed even if it means missing a primary target. Constant contact with units on the ground does occur and intelligence is used related to these strikes from the military side (I can't comment on what the CIA is doing since I've never worked there).

Again, if there was uncertainty of the targets the question becomes, who authorized the strike to occur? Why didn't anyone report the uncertainty to the ground unit? Lets not forget that armed UAS operations are conducted by supporting units to units on the ground which are the supported. Per their own words, "We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country's leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program," the men said in the letter." Great, so they were part of the problem at the time because they kept silent and said nothing. If they could not handle things and "quickly got numb" then why did they not also request transfer to another MOS/ASFC? And linking the Paris attack to armed UAS operations is a stretch

Sp3 Byron Skinner, Nonsense. This is the technology evolution of warfare. The unmanned over head delivery of ordnance is the replacement for the tank and tube artillery. It is more accurate, cheaper delivery platform, and recallable. In regard to9 the "poor" Air Force officers who have to pull six 12 hour day at Cheech AFB in Nevada a short ways from Las Vegas and having to see people eyes as they are being killed, welcome to the cull fly boys you just got elevated form a support and service puke to a warrior. At half a world away I wouldn't give a second thought to killing by remote control its a tad bit different at a meter away. As we said in Nam. The whole DoD exist for just one purpose and that is to support the Marine and Army Infantry Rifleman. If the rifleman decided that he/she is tired of dying, getting wounded and killing the enemy, all of you are out of a job. A drone still can't take an inch of ground and keep it.

No more so than IBCM or smart bombs or a sniper's bullet. The only thing that is cowardly is the loser that runs away from their duty

NO NOT cowardly KILLING the enemy is NEVER COWARDLY!

No,

I reckon it beats the hell out of carpet bombing or dropping napalm.

Heck No they aren't cowardly..... they keep guys like me from having to do more dangerous stuff!!!!!

Advances in Tech always presents this cultural question, because from a warrior point of view it's a proven winner. You ask generally " Is using modern equipment with proven technology wrong?" Is using any "technology" cowardly? I mean we don't need to use drones, but can you explain to all those anxious parents how risking a young American's life to destroy and enemy is braver, more masculine and more worthy of envy? I think better tech is just a tool. Not much different than the introduction of the long bow as a "stand off " weapon system. Some guy inside the castle might have asked your same question. Good philosophical question, but remember what Patton said, war was about "making the other poor bastard die for his country." The how is largely immaterial. Dead is dead.

War is hell! Drones are just a new version of 'reach out and touch someone' with high explosives.