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"The War Room" (article, Oct. 27), about the drone pilots and crewmembers having a hard time, is a joke.

I am in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and I serve with real pilots who fly missions every day with the possibility of not coming back from these missions.

The pilots and crewmembers at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., have nothing to complain about. They get to see their families every night and on the weekends. They get their days off, they get to see the smiles of their children in the morning. The Marines I serve with here have not seen their children or families for more than six months, they are lucky to talk to them on the phone once or twice a week. And these guys have the audacity to complain about how hard it is to see someone die on a video screen?

How about trying it in real life? Now there is a real dose of reality.

And not having lively dinner conversation because your family doesn’t have a security clearance? What lunacy is that? I would give anything to sit with my family and talk about nonsensical issues every day.

But go ahead and keep thinking you have it so hard. I am sure everyone will pray for you and your safe return on your 40-minute drive back to your family every day.

Want to see what hard really is? Come over here and get shot at, rocketed, mortared, not get to see your family every day and see how much harder life can get.

Staff Sgt. Joseph WalshKandahar, Afghanistan

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