Background of preparing this project:

Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA, commonly known as 'drones') have emerged as the icons of modern warfare through conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the US-Iran war. People were fascinated not only by their outstanding cost-effectiveness but also by the fact that there is very little risk to the operators' lives. Especially in Korea, due to the population cliff and the decrease in military manpower, there is no choice but to rely more heavily on various remotely controlled unmanned weapons, including RPAs. Defense Minister Kyu-baek Ahn even advocated for 'training 500,000 drone warriors.'

However, while drones have increased the physical distance from the enemy, they have brought the psychological distance to an unprecedented closeness. The scenes of killing, captured in high resolution by the drone's advanced optical equipment, are broadcast live right before the operator's eyes. For those who must witness even the terrified expressions of the enemy moments before death, war is no longer 'remote.' Training '500,000 drone warriors' without preparing for these aspects could easily turn into a national tragedy of '500,000 PTSD patients.' Furthermore, if the enemy uses footage captured by drones for propaganda through cyber hacking, the damage could extend to all our citizens.

Yet, in Korea, everyone praises only the cost-effectiveness and performance of military drones, while saying nothing about the negative psychological impact on their operators. This project was conceived to foresee such risks inherent in military drones and to present 'human-centered guidelines' that our military and society must prepare for in future battlefields.

Main contents of this project

Cover draft (subject to change in the future)

Drone warfare is never a video game!

How much of the horrors of the battlefield on screen can you endure?

A thorough dissection of the invisible pain caused by new technology!

This book reveals the psychological damage that drone warfare can inflict on its warriors through empirical research involving over 250 drone operators from the US military and foreign armed forces. The classic in military psychology, <On Killing>, showed that humans have an instinctive resistance to killing others, but that this resistance can be suppressed through military training when necessary. Co-authored by the author of <On Killing>, this book extends that perspective to drone operators.

It also delves into the ethics of remote combat, public misconceptions about PTSD among drone operators, and the dangers of weapons fully controlled by artificial intelligence. In doing so, it will quickly and powerfully remind us that it is extremely difficult for humans to kill others without losing their humanity.

This book does not merely highlight the technological advancements of drones or praise them as a panacea for modern warfare, as is common in other drone warfare books. It is a rare masterpiece that explores the real damage of drone warfare to its warriors not only from psychological and neuropsychiatric perspectives but also from a humanities viewpoint. It contains essential insights needed to respond to the future warfare we will face.

* Bibliographic information

Table of contents

Preface: The Predator That Found Bin Laden

Part 1: Understanding Remotely Piloted Aircraft
Chapter 1: The Evolution of Remote Killing
Chapter 2: Endless Desire, The Rise of Robots
Chapter 3: Machine
Chapter 4: Human
Chapter 5: Mission
Chapter 6: Means

Part 2: Various Responses to Killings Using RPA
Chapter 1: Methods of Killing Using RPA
Chapter 2: Responses to Remote Killings
Chapter 3: Populations Most Affected by Remote Killings

Part 3: All Issues to Consider
Chapter 1: Are We at War?
Chapter 2: RPA and the Warrior Spirit
Chapter 3: Dehumanization vs. Familiarization of the Enemy
Chapter 4: Distance from the Target
Chapter 5: Sleep and Mental Armor
Chapter 6: Demand for Obedience to Authority: Everyone in the Cockpit
Chapter 7: Collective Immunity: Collective Killing
Chapter 8: Target Appeal

Part 4: Barriers, Assistance, and the Future
Chapter 1: Comparison with Video Games
Chapter 2: Culture
Chapter 3: Collection of Model Answers
Chapter 4: Futuristic Killing Robots

Acknowledgments
References

List of Backers

Translator's Note
Index

Retail / Funding Price: 26,000 KRW

Format Provided: Paperback

Estimated Total Pages: 416 pages

Book Size:152 * 225mm (A5 New)

Preview of the Main Text:

* Author and Translator Introduction

- Author Wayne Phelps

Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Marine Corps. Deployed five times to Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2012. During his military service, the use of military drones increased dramatically. From 2016 to 2018, he served as a drone squadron commander, leading four unmanned aerial vehicle system teams in combat against extremist armed groups before retiring. He currently lives in Austin, Texas.

- Author Dave Grossman

Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army, former professor of psychology at the United States Military Academy and professor of military science at Arkansas State University. He is the founder of a new academic field called 'killology.' Through killology, he has made new and revolutionary contributions to understanding killing in war, the psychological costs of war, the fundamental causes of the 'virus' of violent crime rampant worldwide, and the healing process of victims of violence. His books include On Killing, On Combat, and Assassination Generation.

- Translator Donghoon Lee

Graduated from Chung-Ang University with a degree in philosophy in 2003. Former reporter for Monthly Aviation and foreign news reporter for Popular Science, among others. Major translated works include Topgun: An American Story, On Killing, Masters of the Air, The Battle of Britain, and Dambuster.

* Introduction to Related Goods

In this project, depending on the selected reward option, the following goods will be provided in addition to the main book.

The world's first military branch specializing in drone operations, Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces (abbreviated SBS) patch (80*50mm, includes Velcro).

Drone sticker set (120*200mm).

Promotional keychain (30*120mm).

* The attached design shows the front and back of the same keychain.

Printing supporters' names inside the book.

Our section <Memoirs of the First Top Gun Principal>.

* All merchandise designs may be slightly modified to improve quality.

Hello, supporters! This is Enitel Maker.

Hello. This is Donghoon Lee, CEO of Enitel Publishing.

Our company is a one-person publishing house founded in 2023.

The company name is an abbreviation of our philosophy: "ENthusiasm and Idea TELl."

With over 20 years of experience in publishing, I aim to use my expertise to become a shield of wisdom that protects the world from ignorance and falsehood.

Wadiz Maker Page: https://app.wadiz.kr/links/6awOD9El61

Official website: https://cafe.naver.com/enitel

The reason we chose Wadiz is

To achieve both product promotion and recouping production costs at the same time. This is especially challenging for new makers like us.

Our first book, <Memoirs of the First Top Gun Principal>, also achieved the desired results through crowdfunding on another platform and later performed well in the market.

We chose Wadiz because it has a more mature audience interested in real-world issues. The funds raised will be used for book design, printing, and binding.