20180210 Die Geschichte eines Drohnen-Whistleblowers

Imagine what being the first drone whistleblower would be like

Brandon Bryant doesn't need to imagine.

When we asked Brandon what it was like, he said: "I would talk to my superiors and they would hammer me for questioning their authority, even if I had rhyme and reason due to law and regulations, etc. I went to their superiors, and I got the shit piled on me. I got days off taken away, breaks missed, extra duties assigned. All to break my spirit to be who they wanted me to be without question."

Going public took the courage of his convictions. We asked Brandon about his goals in telling the world about the U.S. Air Force drone program. "I would want people to know, beyond its existence, the consequences it has on us as a species to delineate our power into something so easily destructive," he replied.

And he added: ''With how easily this technology can be abused, we need to ask ourselves the hardest and most difficult questions we can."

And Brandon keeps asking such questions: "Every time we get closer to that edge, we're going to have to realize where it places us. How do our enemies view us? How do our friends? If we are all quiet with our souls in the darkest part of the night can we sleep soundly, or will the echoes of our actions stir our nightmares into being? These questions need to be asked."

Brandon stepped into a highly stressful and essential role of drone whistleblower -- traveling in the USA and abroad to strongly and clearly speak out about the escalating drone wars. He can't keep going without minimal resources.

The RootsAction Education Fund awarded Brandon a Drone Whistleblower Fellowship to provide ongoing support for his vital efforts. Half of every tax-deductible dollar that you can donate goes directly to Brandon, while the other half sustains the Education Fund's public outreach program to challenge drone wars, perpetual warfare and overall militarism.

The term "drone whistleblower" scarcely existed several years ago, when Brandon was on a panel at the United Nations. A few days later, "Rolling Stone" reported that "the most moving statement came from Brandon Bryant, a former U.S. Air Force drone operator who logged thousands of hours firing remote missiles at distant targets in Afghanistan and Iraq over six years."

Since then, Brandon has spoken to many audiences, in the United States and overseas. While struggling with post-traumatic stress, he openly shares his anguish -- and calls for moral precepts to prevail by ending the U.S. drone program of remote killing.

Brandon tell us that the Drone Whistleblower Fellowship "helps me to have the freedom to spread my message and to help others become aware of their own actions through the lessons that I've learned. If I am the one to spread goodwill and peace in order to make reparations for what I have done in the military -- and others are willing to support it -- that is something that I can put my heart and soul behind and be eternally grateful towards."

Days ago, Brandon sent along some thoughts that he'd like to share with you. "I know a lot of us look at the world today and we despair," he wrote. "We see corporations consuming our resources at an exponential rate to sell us meaningless trinkets and distract us while our planet is dying. The leaders that we have voted into office are slaves to money and are not servants of the people that they represent. And we live our lives in relative safety built off the bloodshed and misery of those that the mainstream media would say are different than us and whom we need to fear."

Brandon went on: "I'm sorry to say that nothing will save us from this mess but ourselves. The world scenario notwithstanding, I'm not here to smash your hearts, minds, and spirits against the face of the reality that we have set before us. I'm here to remind us to carry with us a little bit of hope.

"I served in the military for eight years, six of those for the USAF Intelligence apparatus that mutated into the drone program that we see today. And even though through Trump's administration we see more killings in the first year of his administration than the entire Obama administration combined, we can also see that this comes from the elites' desperation to hold on to whatever scraps of power that they can through fear and intimidation."

Brandon recalled: "My mother once told me something I'll always remember. I asked her, 'Why doesn't somebody do anything about the problems in the world today?' She said, 'Brandon, you're somebody.'"

As someone in the military's drone program, Brandon was always under orders. As a whistleblower, he says, "I think that I have done a good job in setting the example of somebody who has made grievous mistakes out of foolishness and naivety, has taken responsibility for my own faults in my own actions, and has decided to do something about it. And with the legitimacy that I have gained, through the madness and the grief, I offer my voice and actions once again to step into the arena and face the monsters of humanity as myself. I have nothing to offer but myself. I think that's enough."

Thank you!
The RootsAction Education Fund team

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