Hey! Military drone pilots have feelings too! You guys!

That’s basically what the Pentagon is on the precipice of saying, according to the Grey Lady, despite the fact that many in the military community don’t recognize their virtual aviation as a combat presence.

The Defense Department says it doesn’t matter though, because they’re about to be in line for awards and medals and honors just like non-joystick pilots. The announcement on the matter is slated to be made on Thursday.

This from The New York Times:

[The Pentagon] has created a designation to recognize service members who had a direct effect on combat operations even though they were operating remotely, Pentagon officials said. Drone pilots are likely to receive many of the awards, but they may also be given to operators who launch cyberattacks.

“It’s way past time,” said David A. Deptula, a retired three-star Air Force general who pushed the military to embrace drones. “People should be acknowledged and rewarded for their contributions to accomplishing security objections regardless of where they are located.”

Current and former military officials had been deeply divided about whether to recognize the drone pilots. An initial Pentagon plan in 2013 to honor them with a “Distinguished Warfare Medal” was criticized by some veterans’ groups, which feared that the award would rank higher than combat medals like the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars sent a letter to Mr. Obama expressing its objections to the proposed medal. Some veterans have derided such recognition as a “geek cross.” Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced the planned medal during his final days at the Pentagon in 2013.

But the proposal was scuttled by his successor, Chuck Hagel, amid the fury from the veterans’ groups.