# Any idea why "radio operator" is one of the deadliest jobs in America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587 "2016-03-10T22:11:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/21 "2016-03-12T23:58:17Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > … The problem is in the military, one thing that never changes is heraldry. Infantry is blue, artillery is red, and cavalry/armor is yellow. And that’s never going to change. Within a single service I agree. But … When services combine or split things often get compromised. US Army Air Corps \> USAAF \> USAF abandoned a lot of standard Army heraldry on the way to becoming a separate service. OTOH, when the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, and Canadian Army combined into the Canadian Forces, a lot of distinct heraldry got munged together. I’m pretty clueless about Star Trek other than the original 1960s version. I know there was one later offshoot that predated that series in their timeline. So that would have been either a US-centric service or a combined all-Earth service. By the time of the original series the Federation existed and had Star Fleet. Combining the space services of a lot of planet systems would have produced a few compromises. How much has the Federation grown and Star Fleet changed in subsequent variant series? I have no clue, but it’s not implausible the answer is “a bunch”. How much time supposedly passed? 20years? Or 200? Other than retro-ceremonial stuff like mess dress, US Army uniforms today look very little like those of 100 or 150 years ago. Were I to put on my USAF uniform from just 30 years ago I couldn’t pass for current; Security would recognize I was an imposter instantly. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/22 "2016-03-13T19:33:09Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Is there some kind of canonical explanation for the change in colors, though? Or is it just costume design, a clothing version of the Klingon heads? To the best of my knowledge, no in-universe explanation was ever given. (In fact, I cannot recall the change being mentioned, except in one episode of DS9 that involved time travel). The explanation given, as I recall, was that the costume designer felt Patrick Stewart and Johnathen Frakes looked better in red than in yellow. Also: Geordi and Worf started in red and then changed to gold because they changed their minds about what colors looked best on those actors, and Data’s job was “OPS” rather than Science Officer because his makeup looked terrible if you dressed him in blue. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/23 "2016-03-13T19:41:22Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Kinda like redshirts on Star Trek. Don’t ever volunteer for the landing party. Despite the widespread belief that “redshirts” were expendable, plenty of folks in gold or blue died on those missions. Star Trek: The Magazine did an article counting all the crew deaths on TOS, and IIRC less than half wore red. What was really the trope there is that if there is someone in the landing party whose name wasn’t in the opening credits, they will probably die. Anybody you haven’t seen before. But for some reason the guys in red were more memorable. Over 20 years ago I bought a boardgame about space exploration, and one of the rules said that if your landing party took casualties for any reason, any Security among them would die first, and I said “Cool, just like Star Trek.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/24 "2016-03-13T21:14:31Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > According to the BLS there are 1,100 radio operators in the US. If one of them died on the job then that work give them the level of danger referenced in the OP. Thank you - did you happen to find a definition, or job description, for radio operator? ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/25 "2016-03-14T15:16:38Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > He is the guy standing beside the LT calling in a fire mission. > > Declan Dang, you made the joke before I did. Presumably soldiers aren’t counted the the numbers referenced in the OP, but yeah, military radio operators are carrying around a big “shoot me first” flag on their back. As for the actual thing, yeah, it’s a small hobby/profession so when one guy electrocutes himself/gets struck by lightning it really skews the statistics. > [@j666](#): > > Thank you - did you happen to find a definition, or job description, for radio operator? It must be based on a certain tier of FCC license; if puddleglum’s number is correct it must be commercial like cwniles said, there are 3/4-million amateur radio operators in the US alone. Though you’d think there’d be more… maybe it only counts dedicated radiomen whose only job is running the radio, and all the “commercial radio operator”-certified airline pilots and ship’s officers are counted under their main profession. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/26 "2016-03-14T15:20:54Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > In just about every mystery or action movie I’ve seen that takes place in a military outpost or naval vessel, when the hero sneaks into the radio room to send a distress message, invariably the radio operator is slumped over in his chair, leaking brain matter into the destroyed electronics. So maybe truth is just as strange as fiction? Former USAF groud radio ops here - The reality is that in a war time situation - the first thing often targeted will be the Command and Control, Communications - so, in the field, life expectancy for a radio guy was short - they DO in fact want to cut off your communications. Now, of course, this was back in the days of actual short wave radio ops vs todays usage of cell.satelite - so take that as you will. > [@Sailboat](#): > > It’s driven by The Narrative. Once the radio operator is out of the picture, the heroes are cut off from outside assistance…and more importantly, from seeking guidance from their superiors. This forces them to grow to meet the occasion, progressing on their hero’s journey. This is still a valid first thing to do when attacking - take out the comm ability of your enemy first. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/27 "2016-03-14T15:23:32Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Thank you - did you happen to find a definition, or job description, for radio operator? Pretty much what cwniles said but here is what I found " Operate radio equipment in order to communicate with ships, aircraft, mining crews, offshore oil rigs, logging camps and other remote operations." ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/28 "2016-03-14T16:45:59Z")
In wars and the military, it is best to “take out” the opposition’s radio operator FIRST! I’m reading a book about a news reporter in Vietnam… One of the first things they told her was to NOT walk with the radio operator if she valued her life! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/29 "2016-03-14T17:56:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Within a single service I agree. But … > > When services combine or split things often get compromised. US Army Air Corps \> USAAF \> USAF abandoned a lot of standard Army heraldry on the way to becoming a separate service. > > OTOH, when the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, and Canadian Army combined into the Canadian Forces, a lot of distinct heraldry got munged together. > > I’m pretty clueless about Star Trek other than the original 1960s version. I know there was one later offshoot that predated that series in their timeline. So that would have been either a US-centric service or a combined all-Earth service. > > By the time of the original series the Federation existed and had Star Fleet. Combining the space services of a lot of planet systems would have produced a few compromises. > > How much has the Federation grown and Star Fleet changed in subsequent variant series? I have no clue, but it’s not implausible the answer is “a bunch”. How much time supposedly passed? 20years? Or 200? > > Other than retro-ceremonial stuff like mess dress, US Army uniforms today look very little like those of 100 or 150 years ago. Were I to put on my USAF uniform from just 30 years ago I couldn’t pass for current; Security would recognize I was an imposter instantly. WHich does raise the question… why exactly did the USAF adopt a Blue uniform ala the RAF. The kept the Amry rank structure. Might it be due to having just spent years fighting alongside the RAF? In the UK. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/30 "2016-03-14T21:07:20Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Thank you - did you happen to find a definition, or job description, for radio operator? [Standard Occupation Classification 2010](http://www.bls.gov/soc/2010/soc274013.htm): Receive and transmit communications using radiotelephone equipment in accordance with government regulations. May repair equipment. Excludes “Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers” Can’t say as I find that terribly helpful, but the SOC is the list of definitions used by the federal government’s Census of Occupational Injuries, etc. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/31 "2016-03-15T02:05:31Z")
So the stat must be an artifact of the small number of people, as suggested. Thanks to everyone, and I’m impressed. I spend a lot of time going through government websites, and that one intimidated the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/32 "2016-03-15T23:11:12Z")
> [@SpyOne](#): > > The explanation given, as I recall, was that the costume designer felt Patrick Stewart and Johnathen Frakes looked better in red than in yellow. > Also: Geordi and Worf started in red and then changed to gold because they changed their minds about what colors looked best on those actors, and Data’s job was “OPS” rather than Science Officer because his makeup looked terrible if you dressed him in blue. This explanation is further proven by the episode in which Jelico orders Troi to put on a proper uniform. Her “proper” uniform is a brighter shade of blue than any other blue uniform. I always assumed this was because she just didn’t look good in the standard color. ---
**Author:** ![cwniles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@cwniles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwniles)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587/33 "2016-03-16T14:11:52Z")
> [@j666](#): > > So the stat must be an artifact of the small number of people, as suggested. > > Thanks to everyone, and I’m impressed. I spend a lot of time going through government websites, and that one intimidated the hell out of me. I would assume so. I am horrible with math but 1,100 - .08% = 1,099.12 Taking everything into account sure seems to confirm that this was a small sample set (1,100 or thereabouts) of which even one on the job death would create the comparatively high (.08%) fatality rate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-idea-why-radio-operator-is-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-in-america/748587.md?page=1)