As a young boy with an active imagination, I often saw myself sitting in the cockpit of a fighter, shooting down enemy planes or saving waves of infantry with derring-do. Well, those dreams didn’t quite pan out. In fact, by 11th grade I abandoned any thought of joining the Air Force and decided to go full on ground pounder.
The next decade flew by, and I soon found myself back in the civilian world. There was only one problem. I didn’t know how to be normal anymore and quickly realized I didn’t fit in. I pushed through feelings of being abandoned, cast into a world I didn’t understand and that didn’t understand me.
There was an emptiness inside I never anticipated. Certainly, the Army never warned me about it. Sure, I had family and an idea of building a writing career, but in those first few years I just didn’t belong.
My story isn’t uncommon. Most people who spend a long period of time in the military suffer from similar experiences. Fortunately, there are people like Apex resident Chris Lewis. A veteran of both the United States Marine Corps and the Army, Chris’s experiences took him around the world.
He planned on spending a career in uniform, but life had other ideas. After suffering a string of spinal injuries that ended his budding career, Chris found himself in an alien world that didn’t make sense. Like anyone worth their salt, he picked himself up and decided to make the most of his new life.
Through his use of the G.I. Bill and the drive of a man looking to succeed, Chris graduated from N.C. State University in the middle of the Covid pandemic. Turning his eye on the growing field of drone work, Chris accepted a position with Bird’s Eye Aerial Drones in southern California, an organization focused on conducting aerial reviews for power companies. It was while engaged in this work that Chris realized there was a way to alleviate the emptiness of leaving the service while taking the opportunity to help fellow veterans facing their own unique challenges.
Seeing a perfect chance to give back, Chris founded Vet to Drones, a local non-profit slowly starting to spread across the nation. “I decided to begin helping my fellow veterans because I was able to overcome my own personal challenges while transitioning to the commercial sector.”
He knows that many servicemembers and veterans have lost their share of friends to deployments, PTSD, suicide and depression, and more. While veterans are only a minority of the American population, many continue being haunted by the ghosts of their pasts.
“I discovered drone technology to be a great way to enable veterans to become excited about the future rather than dwelling on the past,” he explains.
Drones are an emerging technology perhaps most notably recognized for their use in warfare, as evidenced in Ukraine and by Iran, as well as being children’s toys that became a craze a few years ago.
Surprisingly, the first drone is said to have been used as early as 1935. British scientists and military minds produced these radio-controlled aircraft to use as target practice. The first drone model was the DH.82B Queen Bee.
Flash forward 90 years and drones are becoming integrated into multiple facets of modern life. One of the fastest growing industries, drone technology is used in everything from aerial photography for real estate agents to helping with disaster relief.
Ranging from handheld gadgets to massive models capable of carrying heavy cameras, drones are an exciting new opening for anyone looking to be their own boss and apply skills learned in their previous careers.
Vets to Drones has a simple mission statement: [Their program] prepares veterans to enter the commercial drone industry by providing free resources and training to current industry standards.
Graduates are all Part 107 Certified and tested to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, making them highly marketable as UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) pilots in the commercial industry. In accordance with federal law, all drone pilots are required to be certified through the FAA. Vets to Drones provides everything veterans need to obtain this certification.
Drone technology continues to expand beyond Unmanned Aerial Systems. It encompasses all remotely operated robotics to include ground, aerial, underwater, and space robotics.
“As a veteran organization, we are huge proponents of abiding by FAA regulations and working closely with public safety agencies to ensure drone operations are conducted across the United States,” Chris says.
Chris has built an intricate web of contacts and resources to ensure the success of each graduate. By partnering across the veteran community with industry professionals and experts, natural disaster response agencies, NGOs and other veteran businesses, Vets to Drones fills a need for both veterans and licensed drone operators. They are continually working with industry partners to build and develop their current curriculum.
Vets to Drones provides critical services to projects including Drone Brothers, the nationwide leaders in construction mapping; Veterans in the Forest, out of UNC Chapel Hill’s Institute for the Environment, which conducts aerial surveys of reforestation sites nationwide; and Promo Drone, an advertising and public safety messaging company. All unlock new opportunities for veterans daily.
“Drone technology is an exciting center point where a variety of 21st century technologies converge,” Chris states. “We use robotics that are integrated with AI to conduct data collection missions for infrastructure projects across the US and abroad. This is only a small example of where we can be utilized to improve the American infrastructure.”
In addition to the obvious employment benefits, Vets to Drones also focuses on developing strong mental health, promoting brotherhood, and creating excitement. Instead of giving hand-outs to veterans, Chris’s organization is a hands-up outfit. They empower students and prepare them to enter the American drone industry as professionals with a large, diverse community behind them for support.
“We are American military veterans, we’ve covered each other’s 6s in times of war. Now we have each other’s backs as we take the leap into drone technology.”
Chris and his team at Vets to Drones continue pushing barriers and seeking the latest information and developments in this ever-changing industry. They offer scholarships, 24/7 support, software access, and tailored training to ensure all students meet and pass their certification standards.
In a world where it is increasingly easy to slip through the cracks and be forgotten, Chris Lewis and Vets to Drones go above and beyond to help as many vets as possible. With chapters up and down the East Coast and as far west as Colorado, this local non-profit is a shining example of professionalism and giving back to a portion of the community that has already given so much.
To learn more, go to:
Vets to Drones: https://www.vetstodrones.org/
Veterans in the Forest: https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/newsroom/veterans-in-the-forest
Promo Drone: https://promo-drone.co/
