Victimhood and trauma within drone warfare

ABSTRACT Operators of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) within the military have increasingly been recognized as potential sufferers of immense stress and trauma as a result of the conditions they are exposed to. In cases of such trauma, the provision for and access to sufficient mental health care is vital to minimize risks of developing conditions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), moral injury or high emotional distress. Through integrating psychological studies and data with critical feminist security studies, this article attempts to establish the validity of drone operators as victims of trauma within the broader context of drone warfare. The aim of this article is to not only highlight this trauma suffered by drone operators, but to also openly address the ongoing stigma and factors that prevent them from seeking adequate mental health care. Drone operators exposed to trauma are further stigmatized and emasculated by their peers, resulting in a decrease in uptake of available mental health support. Through adopting a gendered approach, the article explores how this stigma invalidates much of the experiences and trauma suffered by drone operators, but furthermore is structured by ideas of masculinity and emasculation. Recognizing this stigma and emasculation is not only important for understanding military order and the masculinized dynamics of state violence, but vital for addressing the wider issues of trauma in drone warfare.