BRANDON BRYANT has helped America to kill 1626 people as a drone operator for the US Air Force. He has watched, from the safety of his desk, his targets "bleed out" thousands of kilometres away.
The carnage he has seen has left him permanently scarred; he has post-traumatic stress disorder and he is haunted by the images of his kills.
In a moving but disturbing interview with NBC news, Bryant describes his five years as a drone operator at bases in Nevada, New Mexico and Iraq.
He recalled one operation where his team fired two missiles at three men in Afghanistan and how he watched the men die on a thermal imaging screen.
"The guy that was running forward, he's missing his right leg," he said. "And I watch this guy bleed out and, I mean, the blood is hot. I can see every little pixel if I just close my eyes."
Bryant said this Air Force recruiter had told him that by being a drone operator "he would be like the smart guys in the control room in a James Bond movie".
He said he quit the Air Force because the job made him feel like a "sociopath", someone who had "lost respect for life".
BRANDON BRYANT - Founder Project Red Hand
The founder of Project Red Hand, Brandon joined the US Air Force in 2005, started training for the drone program April 12th of 2006, flew his first mission on December 3rd of that year, and fired his first hellfire shot on January 26th the following year . After leaving active duty on July 4th of 2011, he was the first drone operator to publicly speak out about the realities of the program. Seen on Democracy Now, CNN, Fox, published in GQ, Time Magazine, and collaborating on the the first article by The Intercept, Brandon seeks to answer all questions and get as much information to the public as possible. He was a part of Robert Greenwald’s documentary “Unmanned” and in Tonje Hessen Schei’s documentary “Drone”. He has spoken in front of the Security Council, and schools and parliaments across Europe. He advocates for transparency, questioning the nature of justice, open access to the internet, and veteran support.
ABOUT PROJECT RED HAND
The short version: We are a team of veterans, human rights activists, and concerned citizens who seek to expose corruption, elevate truth, and increase human solidarity.
Now for the long version. Project Red Hand is the uniting of conscientious thought leaders, whistle blowers, experts, and concerned individuals in response to a world of growing crises and abuses in power. Our oath as public servants is to support and defend all people who are at the mercy of authority through exposing the mechanisms of corruption, manipulation, and wrong doing wherever it exists. We believe that truth deserves it’s own narrative, and through public awareness initiatives, we advocate a critical position toward all who would see it diminished. In doing so, we hope that people like you will also stand up and join us in our efforts.
