[Seizethecarp]

“I was steered into OCS at a time when the IQ was higher for enlisted Special Forces than it was for officers, they have since lowered it for SF, not increased it for officers, the military is full of enlisted IQs that meet officer standards.”

I believe that pilot IQ standard is much higher than base-line officer standard. The military is properly inclined to entrust the most expensive, powerful and catastrophic equipment (in the event of human error) to those proved to be of the highest available raw intelligence on whom they lavish the most expensive training.

[Seizethecarp]

Then there is John McCain, son and grandson of admirals who finished near last at Annapolis, IIRC...and went on to happen to be the pilot during numerous crashes. This (and other well-known moments of questionable judgment) calls into question whether his IQ was up to the standard applied to those whose ancestors were not so esteemed. Could McCain have have come in below minimum standard on flight school qualification testing, but been allowed to bump another higher performing cadet? Maybe he did...

Should drone piloting increasingly involving huge, jet-powered airframes flying in all weather over populated area be left to less then the most intelligent available drone drivers? BTW, the Israelis have a drone the size of a 737, IIRC.