Graphic anti-drone video ad to run on television near US air force bases

A group of US military veterans is hoping to put a stop to the use of drone strikes with a graphic TV ad campaign which will run near drone operating bases across the US this month.

The 15-second television spots – thought to be the first anti-drone ads to run on US television – will air during the daytime throughout April in the Sacramento region, near Beale air force base, and asks drone pilots to “please refuse to fly”.

“We feel that it really comes down to the people who are doing the actual killing to put a stop to this,” said Nick Mottern, the coordinator of activist site KnowDrones.com and a navy veteran himself.

The ads are being sponsored by roughly 200-300 veterans from a Democratic party veterans’ group in Sacramento, KnowDrones.com and the city’s local chapter of Veterans for Peace, a group of US military veterans seeking world peace.

One of the ads features images of wounded and dead children, and will appear on television only after 10pm. The other, edited version will run 5am-9pm daily.

The Sacramento spots are part of a larger plan to run the advertisements near drone operations centers around the US. Last month, the more graphic ad ran in Las Vegas near Creech Air Force Base for one week.

“We felt that the president and the Congress had been totally unwilling not only to stop the killing, but to provide any information to the public on the scope of these attacks since they began,” said Mottern.

US drone use is one of the most controversial aspects of its foreign policy. An analysis by the human rights group Reprieve, released in November 2014, found that US operators targeting 41 men had ended up killing an estimated 1,147 people.

The coalition of veterans is hoping that the advertisements will reach drone pilots, support personnel and their families. Mottern said that the group understands the difficulties and consequences of violating orders, but believes the only way to put an end to drone killings is by having soldiers involved.