In this January 2014 interview, Maj. Albert Scaperotto, US Air Force, discusses his deployment as a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) pilot for the Air Force starting in 2008 in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF). Maj. Scaperotto talks about his transition from F-16s to MQ-9s and some of the challenges he faced in making the change. He describes the day-to-day workings of a RPA pilot and talks about some motivation issues some of the pilots face. He discusses some challenges the community has faced and shares how he has been trying to change the community and boost the morale of his Airmen. He discusses his new position creating the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) for the RPA platforms. Maj. Scaperotto closes his interview by stating, "I think their bottom line has to be that no matter where they go from here in terms of technology and platform development that it has to be centered around the human being, the pilot enabling that person to be the forefront of the decision-making and not just be a manager of a system."

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