WEBVTT 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:08.980 All across America and around the world, this 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:15.140 is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. Good 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:18.600 day. I'm Jim Fausone. I'm the Officer of the 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:20.699 Deck today here on Veterans Radio and thanks 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:23.469 for joining us. We've got some interesting stories 00:00:23.469 --> 00:00:25.649 for you. We always want to remind you, you can 00:00:25.649 --> 00:00:28.750 find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook 00:00:28.750 --> 00:00:32.429 site or at the web, veteransradio .org, where 00:00:32.429 --> 00:00:35.270 we're on the web 24 -7. You can find a lot of 00:00:35.270 --> 00:00:38.310 our podcasts there as well. We post new ones 00:00:38.310 --> 00:00:42.509 every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a 00:00:42.509 --> 00:00:45.229 new interview, something you didn't know before 00:00:45.229 --> 00:00:49.219 by going to veteransradio .org. And before we 00:00:49.219 --> 00:00:52.259 get started, we want to thank our sponsors. First 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:55.259 up, we want to thank National Veteran Business 00:00:55.259 --> 00:01:01.060 Development Council, NVBDC .org. It was established 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:04.379 to certify both service -disabled and veteran 00:01:04.379 --> 00:01:06.659 -owned businesses. You'll find out how they can 00:01:06.659 --> 00:01:12.299 help your business by going to NVBDC .org. We 00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:15.840 want to thank Legal Help for Veterans. Legal 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:18.939 Help for Veterans fights for veterans disability 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:22.040 rights all across the nation. You can reach them 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:30.500 at 800 -693 -4800 or on the web at legalhelpforveterans 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:36.180 .com. And finally, PuroClean. PuroClean is the 00:01:36.180 --> 00:01:38.760 paramedics of property damage. It provides water 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:42.019 damage remediation, flood water removal, fire 00:01:42.019 --> 00:01:45.859 and smoke damage remediation, mold removal, biohazard 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:50.920 cleanup. It also has a focus on veteran franchisees. 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:54.340 You can learn more about them by going to PuroClean 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:59.219 .com. We want to welcome to Veterans Radio, Chris 00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:01.739 Lewis, a Marine and Army vet. We're going to 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:04.659 talk a little bit about that, but he's involved 00:02:04.659 --> 00:02:08.060 in a really cool effort in getting veterans into 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:11.199 the drone industry. Chris, welcome to Veterans 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:15.060 Radio. Thanks, Jim. It's great to be here. Had 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:17.659 a nice kid like you first end up in the Marines 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:19.900 for about eight years and did a couple of years 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:22.979 in the Army and then moved on. Tell us about 00:02:22.979 --> 00:02:27.300 it. Well, I am an Army Brett. I was born on Fort 00:02:27.300 --> 00:02:30.879 Polk and I asked my mother who did 23 years in 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:32.520 the Army, I asked her, you know, what branch 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:34.439 to go into and she said, whatever you do, don't 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:39.000 join the Marine Corps. So naturally. Yeah, exactly. 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:45.099 So tell us what you did in the Marine Corps? 00:02:46.099 --> 00:02:47.900 I did motor transport and that's kind of where 00:02:47.900 --> 00:02:50.759 I got my first touch on drones. I was actually 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:53.560 deployed to Helmand province, Afghanistan and 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:56.199 was handed a box and said hey you got to use 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:58.830 this thing I said What's in the box? They said 00:02:58.830 --> 00:03:01.610 it's a drone. I was like, what's a drone? 20 00:03:01.610 --> 00:03:04.729 year old Lance Corporal had no idea, but we did 00:03:04.729 --> 00:03:08.110 figure it out. So ended up flying that during 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:11.210 convoy operations. So we did security gun trucks 00:03:11.210 --> 00:03:13.310 around long logistics convoys across Helmand 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:17.689 province and through the RQ -11 Raven and did 00:03:17.689 --> 00:03:20.650 persistent ISR around the convoys whenever we 00:03:20.650 --> 00:03:22.590 went firm at night and began to deploy in the 00:03:22.590 --> 00:03:25.439 mornings as well. Well, it's really been an interesting 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:29.979 progression to watch how drones have become almost 00:03:29.979 --> 00:03:35.280 mandatory gear in military life. You just have 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:37.879 to watch the nightly news and see what Russia's 00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:40.240 doing to Ukraine and Ukraine's doing to Russia 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:43.240 and the advances the U .S. is trying to get. 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:45.460 And actually even Taiwan I was reading about, 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.780 trying to build up a drone arsenal whether they 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:53.610 are in the air or in the water. to counter some 00:03:53.610 --> 00:03:58.550 of the activities of the Chinese. So drones and 00:03:58.550 --> 00:04:02.069 drone operation proliferates in the military 00:04:02.069 --> 00:04:05.830 world. How did you move your military experience 00:04:05.830 --> 00:04:08.370 with drone operations over into the civilian 00:04:08.370 --> 00:04:11.889 world? That's a great question. I think I got 00:04:11.889 --> 00:04:16.389 really lucky to be honest. I got out of the military 00:04:16.389 --> 00:04:19.540 in 2018. went to NC State using the GI Bill, 00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:22.300 was actually given a couple of courses and projects 00:04:22.300 --> 00:04:25.980 that involved drones, and was going to end up 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:28.160 in grad school doing agricultural -based research 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.319 using drones to do multispectral imagery across 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:34.519 North Carolina. But COVID hit, laboratory shut 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:37.120 down. Ended up with a nice shiny piece of paper, 00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:41.019 May of 2020, and then found a guy at the park 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:42.939 right here in Raleigh, and he said, do you want 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:45.459 to go to California and start flying robots around 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:48.560 and making money doing it? I said, yes. Where 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:53.660 do I fly, right? Exactly. Less than 48 hours 00:04:53.660 --> 00:04:58.379 later, we were on the road in a 2002 F -150, 00:04:58.660 --> 00:05:01.079 camping gear in tow, robots in the back, and 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:04.500 we drove to California where we started doing 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:07.240 power line inspections for the wildfire mitigation 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:10.300 program out there. That was my first kind of 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:12.319 toes getting dipped in the water, if you will. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:14.879 Finished up that contract, went down to Hurricane 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:17.579 Dorian in Florida. Same thing, power line inspections 00:05:17.579 --> 00:05:21.300 down there. Eventually got licensed, became a 00:05:21.370 --> 00:05:24.670 part 107 holding drone pilot, if you will, then 00:05:24.670 --> 00:05:27.290 went out to the Midwest and started doing telecommunication 00:05:27.290 --> 00:05:30.110 inspections across the Midwest. And that kind 00:05:30.110 --> 00:05:33.029 of started my cycle of contracting operations 00:05:33.029 --> 00:05:36.889 across the country. Naturally started recruiting 00:05:36.889 --> 00:05:38.769 other veterans into the industry, just like, 00:05:38.930 --> 00:05:41.149 hey, I found something. It's incredible. It fits 00:05:41.149 --> 00:05:44.290 like a glove. You won't believe it, but come 00:05:44.290 --> 00:05:46.550 on out here with me. So I started bringing other 00:05:46.550 --> 00:05:47.990 veterans. My brother is an Air Force veteran, 00:05:48.129 --> 00:05:49.610 brought him with me on one of the contracts. 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:53.500 or several contracts. Some guys I served in the 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:56.360 Marine Corps with, folks I met at NC State, some 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:58.699 fellow veteran students, and started bringing 00:05:58.699 --> 00:06:02.860 them out on contracts with me. And then about 00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:05.839 two or three years of that, we met up at a bar 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:08.279 in San Bernardino, California during one of these 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:10.759 contracts with about 40 other veterans and another 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:13.240 drone pilot and said, hey, we're going to formalize 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.730 this kind of initiative of recruiting. And we're 00:06:16.730 --> 00:06:18.009 going to call it Vets to Drones and we're going 00:06:18.009 --> 00:06:19.569 to start this program and start bringing other 00:06:19.569 --> 00:06:22.129 veterans into the industry. Well, it's a great 00:06:22.129 --> 00:06:26.329 and a great idea and an advancing industry, right? 00:06:26.430 --> 00:06:30.230 It's an area where you can see growth just happening 00:06:30.230 --> 00:06:34.589 probably every month. But but for the uninitiated, 00:06:34.589 --> 00:06:40.980 Chris, talk about the areas that. civilian drone 00:06:40.980 --> 00:06:44.680 operators work. What industries use them these 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:47.639 days? Well that's a great question. There's a 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:49.620 variety of verticals across the industry and 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:51.660 everywhere you look there's opportunity. You 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:53.819 gotta make sure you stay focused in your niche 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:57.579 and learn your niche early. So I started in power 00:06:57.579 --> 00:07:01.120 line inspections. So infrastructure in general 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:05.199 is kind of the area of expertise I sunk my teeth 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:09.339 into when I first got in. power line inspections 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:12.240 with manual flight, cell tower inspections doing 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:17.279 digital twin recreation using autonomous orbits 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:19.980 around vertical structures. Then I went into 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:23.060 construction mapping and then I kind of started 00:07:23.060 --> 00:07:26.379 dipping my toes into other areas as well. the 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:28.980 infrastructure inspection side is what we usually 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:31.160 push the veterans in our program towards, because 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.220 there's a lot of employment and 1099 contract 00:07:34.220 --> 00:07:39.420 opportunities in that area. And this is not just 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:43.399 power line infrastructure, it's all types of 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:46.600 infrastructure, is it not? Absolutely, we have 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:50.899 done solar farms, cell towers, construction yards, 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:53.740 agricultural mapping, spreading and spraying 00:07:53.740 --> 00:07:57.920 with agricultural drones, and then with the power 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:00.019 lines, I mean, if you go outside, you see them 00:08:00.019 --> 00:08:02.740 far and wide. They're all over the country. Yeah, 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:05.439 the agricultural application is very interesting 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:08.079 too, because many folks live in the big cities, 00:08:08.139 --> 00:08:11.879 but if you drive across this country, almost 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:14.600 in every stage, you're going to be amazed at 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:19.000 the level of agricultural that we have and how 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:21.500 knowing what's going on from an aerial point 00:08:21.500 --> 00:08:23.459 of view would really be helpful, wouldn't it? 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:28.379 Absolutely. I mean, the data and imagery received 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:31.220 during agricultural mapping mission, especially 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:34.360 using multi -spectral imagery, can give you pinpoint 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:36.899 accuracy of where the failure points are in a 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:38.980 given field. It doesn't matter the size of the 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:43.600 acreage. We have a growing partnership with PICS4D, 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:46.720 where some of our members are licensed instructors 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.240 for that software. We teach other veterans how 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:51.259 to use that as well. And then we have a new one 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:54.289 that's coming up with AgriMo, which is a agricultural 00:08:54.289 --> 00:08:57.549 based software company that's designed just for 00:08:57.549 --> 00:09:03.029 agricultural solutions in the drone space. I 00:09:03.029 --> 00:09:05.889 was looking at some materials and it also seems 00:09:05.889 --> 00:09:09.049 to me that it's also being widely used in the 00:09:09.049 --> 00:09:11.950 real estate industry and I want you to talk a 00:09:11.950 --> 00:09:13.850 little bit about how it's being used in disaster 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:17.309 relief as well. Absolutely. So on the real estate 00:09:17.309 --> 00:09:21.279 side, There's been kind of hit or miss depending 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:23.980 on, you know, either you are involved in real 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:26.419 estate or you know, realtors and they're willing 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:29.240 to bring you on as a part 107 holder. There were 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:32.019 some gray areas earlier on where real estate 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:33.779 agents were just buying drones and flying for 00:09:33.779 --> 00:09:36.139 themselves without getting licensed. And that 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:38.860 caused the FAA to start pinpointing people and 00:09:38.860 --> 00:09:41.360 shelling out some pretty hefty fines. So I don't 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.240 recommend doing that. Make sure you get licensed. 00:09:43.460 --> 00:09:49.110 It's a $175 license versus a $12 ,000 fine. Great 00:09:49.110 --> 00:09:52.049 use case there. Even a Marine can figure that 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:54.110 out and know how that equation works. You didn't 00:09:54.110 --> 00:09:55.889 have to talk to your brother who was Air Force 00:09:55.889 --> 00:09:59.129 vet. He didn't listen to mom. I should say he 00:09:59.129 --> 00:10:01.070 did listen to mom. He didn't join the Marines. 00:10:02.690 --> 00:10:04.490 Yeah, it's written in plaguing crayons. Easy 00:10:04.490 --> 00:10:08.710 to understand. Don't get the $12 ,000 fine. Go 00:10:08.710 --> 00:10:11.350 for the $175 certification. You've mentioned 00:10:11.350 --> 00:10:13.470 it a couple of times and I want to focus on this 00:10:13.470 --> 00:10:19.450 because these aren't your toy hobby Drones line 00:10:19.450 --> 00:10:22.490 of sight, you know, you're gonna crash them every 00:10:22.490 --> 00:10:25.690 time you fly them. These are These are professional 00:10:25.690 --> 00:10:28.350 commercial drones and as you mentioned you need 00:10:28.350 --> 00:10:31.230 a license Tell us about the part 107 licensing 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:35.409 and your friends at the FAA Perfect. So the part 00:10:35.409 --> 00:10:38.450 107 is the minimum certification to earn any 00:10:38.450 --> 00:10:40.309 type of income when it comes to using drones 00:10:40.309 --> 00:10:44.389 and operating in the national airspace It is 00:10:44.389 --> 00:10:47.370 not that difficult. I tell people if you're okay 00:10:47.370 --> 00:10:50.750 at land nav, you just add a z -axis to land nav 00:10:50.750 --> 00:10:54.090 and now you're in the airspace. If you can read 00:10:54.090 --> 00:10:57.529 a map on 2D, you add some third dimension to 00:10:57.529 --> 00:11:00.429 it, you can figure it out. There's a couple of 00:11:00.429 --> 00:11:03.929 trick questions. It is a federally proctored 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:07.710 test, but it is not that difficult to learn. 00:11:07.750 --> 00:11:09.889 That is one thing that we provide as well as 00:11:09.889 --> 00:11:12.809 the part 107 instruction through our program. 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:16.779 But it's the first step into getting into the 00:11:16.779 --> 00:11:20.600 industry. It is far from enough to be considered 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:23.899 a true subject matter expert or professional 00:11:23.899 --> 00:11:27.559 in this field, but it's a step in the right direction. 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:32.299 As I mentioned, this area is exploding. I think 00:11:32.299 --> 00:11:33.919 there's some estimates of like there's gonna 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:37.340 be hundreds of thousands of jobs in this field 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:40.940 over the next 10 years. pays pretty good, 50 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:43.399 maybe to 100 grandish depending on who you're 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:46.200 signing on with or if you're running into contractors. 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:50.240 There's some real things that may be of interest 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.899 to veterans. You're outdoors working. You don't 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:57.120 have a boss, you know, hitting the time clock 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:00.360 over your shoulder maybe the same way. Technology, 00:12:01.179 --> 00:12:04.460 these are all things which is sort of veterans 00:12:04.460 --> 00:12:07.289 will gravitate to. But they have to know what 00:12:07.289 --> 00:12:09.750 they're doing, and that gets us to vetstodrones 00:12:09.750 --> 00:12:13.129 .org. Tell us what the mission of Vets to Drones 00:12:13.129 --> 00:12:17.830 is. We're introducing veterans into the industry. 00:12:18.269 --> 00:12:21.049 We have five core mission sets. Workforce development 00:12:21.049 --> 00:12:23.129 is first, making sure that the veterans in our 00:12:23.129 --> 00:12:24.710 program understand how to use these drones at 00:12:24.710 --> 00:12:27.190 a professional capacity, whether that's manual 00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:30.230 flight for real estate, video, photography, that 00:12:30.230 --> 00:12:33.070 kind of thing, or doing the full data capture 00:12:33.070 --> 00:12:35.389 and processing and even crafting a deliverable 00:12:35.389 --> 00:12:37.789 for their clients. After that, it's K through 00:12:37.789 --> 00:12:40.629 12 education. Several of our members are educators 00:12:40.629 --> 00:12:44.159 in the K through 12. through 12 realm. Others 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.580 do after school programs, drone building programs. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.460 There's even a drone soccer league, both the 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:52.320 US drone soccer league and there's a Korean derivative 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:55.600 as well that where they're getting kids into 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:57.860 a STEM education using drone technology because 00:12:57.860 --> 00:13:00.919 very exciting. Consider it like a quidditch for 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:03.360 drones, if you will. Then, of course, natural 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:07.490 disaster response, which we can dive into. One 00:13:07.490 --> 00:13:09.269 of the concepts in the industry is drones for 00:13:09.269 --> 00:13:11.669 good and disaster response is one of the number 00:13:11.669 --> 00:13:14.330 one areas you can use a drone to help people 00:13:14.330 --> 00:13:18.269 in a variety of ways. Then there's conservation. 00:13:19.110 --> 00:13:22.049 The first project I came up with for our program 00:13:22.049 --> 00:13:24.649 was the Veterans in the Forest project. We started 00:13:24.649 --> 00:13:27.990 down in San Diego and we did mapping missions. 00:13:28.999 --> 00:13:31.340 for reforestation and we went all the way up 00:13:31.340 --> 00:13:34.019 to the Dakotas and across to Pennsylvania and 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:36.960 across the entire country doing these mapping 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:38.919 missions and then bringing other veterans with 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.480 us along the way. I turned into a cool camping 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:43.500 trip where you learn how to fly drones all across 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:47.480 the U .S. in different forested areas. Then our 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:50.580 final mission is recreational therapy. We do 00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:52.940 fly days, drone demo days if you will. We travel 00:13:52.940 --> 00:13:54.659 around the country. We get together with a bunch 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:57.500 of veterans and just fly. During the day, you 00:13:57.500 --> 00:13:59.940 know, it's outdoors has to be a pretty nice day 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:01.440 It's a sober environment and you're learning 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:04.620 a potentially monetizable skill. So that's those 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:08.159 are our five core missions Investor drones program. 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:11.200 Yeah, and you can find more about vets to drones 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:15.000 by going to vets to drones org There's a lot 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:18.320 of great information there As you mentioned, 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:22.759 this is sort of a nationwide program not only 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:25.720 Have you done projects all over the country with 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:28.899 drones and mapping and disaster relief? But I 00:14:28.899 --> 00:14:32.659 also see that you sort of have a regular online 00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:37.480 program, discussion, newsletters. Tell us a little 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:41.100 bit about how you engage veterans on a regular 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:47.629 basis. So the VA newsletter came out and our 00:14:47.629 --> 00:14:49.389 numbers have just exploded, right? We've had 00:14:49.389 --> 00:14:51.809 over 100 ,000 people reach out in a month, and 00:14:51.809 --> 00:14:54.570 it's just been really exciting. Before that, 00:14:54.610 --> 00:14:58.809 we do a weekly webinar. We get online, we talk 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:02.210 about the drone industry as a whole, and we talk 00:15:02.210 --> 00:15:03.830 about problems here, different events that are 00:15:03.830 --> 00:15:06.509 coming up, job opportunities there, and what's 00:15:06.509 --> 00:15:11.350 going on in the industry as a whole. So since 00:15:11.350 --> 00:15:16.149 that... insurgents, you know, the influx of veterans 00:15:16.149 --> 00:15:18.509 coming in. We've broken the country down into 00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:21.350 10 different districts. We've began assigning 00:15:21.350 --> 00:15:23.710 different district or regional commanders, if 00:15:23.710 --> 00:15:26.289 you will, so we can better control and understand 00:15:26.289 --> 00:15:28.549 different areas of the country and the needs 00:15:28.549 --> 00:15:32.009 based in those areas. You know, one of the problems 00:15:32.009 --> 00:15:34.450 of success is you got to figure out how to deal 00:15:34.450 --> 00:15:40.299 with it, right? Yes, yes, absolutely. you know 00:15:40.299 --> 00:15:43.340 when I founded this program it wasn't that uh 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:45.139 you know veterans need help getting into the 00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:47.360 industry it's more that the industry needs help 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:49.299 from the veterans that have been doing this type 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:52.200 of operation for the for well technically the 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:54.139 marine corps had the first drone program in 1989. 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:56.460 you know we'll take that claim to faith there 00:15:56.460 --> 00:16:00.039 you go we've had this this uh we have this experience 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:02.919 or these experiences that add into this this 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:06.320 industry as a whole and um you know as an american 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:08.299 drone industry we might we're a little bit behind 00:16:08.299 --> 00:16:10.580 the curve when it comes to manufacturing and 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:13.940 some of the the processes that are are being 00:16:13.940 --> 00:16:18.179 implemented across the industry so uh i i know 00:16:18.179 --> 00:16:20.059 that the industry as a whole can use our help 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:23.000 and we get the right people the right the brightest 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:25.759 minds and the capable veterans in this industry 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:29.779 to help out. Well, it's both the technical aspect 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:32.059 of flying these drones, but you mentioned the 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:34.519 software and the data analysis, right? Because 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:36.460 all you're doing when you're flying is collecting 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:41.419 data. How does that work? Is the operator involved 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:45.399 in the data quality and data manipulation, or 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:48.159 does that get handed off to a whole other segment 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.610 of the industry? That is a great question. So 00:16:50.610 --> 00:16:53.710 there's different levels to your kind of progression 00:16:53.710 --> 00:16:57.289 in the industry. There's salary -based, W2 -based, 00:16:57.450 --> 00:16:59.769 there's 1099 freelance work, and then starting 00:16:59.769 --> 00:17:02.370 your own full -blown business. If you're doing 00:17:02.370 --> 00:17:05.269 salary -based or W2, usually you're doing just 00:17:05.269 --> 00:17:07.470 data collection, and there's a data processing 00:17:07.470 --> 00:17:10.349 unit at the company that you will upload and 00:17:10.349 --> 00:17:13.230 pass that data along to. When you get into the 00:17:13.230 --> 00:17:15.960 1099 freelance work, you'll start touching the 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:18.259 data and maneuvering data a little bit more. 00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:20.960 If you own your own small business and is your 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:23.740 brand out there approaching the clients, you're 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:26.299 collecting the data, processing the data, and 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:28.019 producing that deliverable for the client. So 00:17:28.019 --> 00:17:30.660 it's not just one thing or the other. And do 00:17:30.660 --> 00:17:33.900 you find that there are veterans going into, 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.579 hey, now that I've got my experience and sea 00:17:37.579 --> 00:17:40.410 legs here on this, I'm going to go ahead and 00:17:40.410 --> 00:17:43.049 start my own business. I want to be my own entrepreneur 00:17:43.049 --> 00:17:46.569 here in this area. Is that possible? Absolutely. 00:17:46.789 --> 00:17:49.410 I see it all the time. Many folks want to start 00:17:49.410 --> 00:17:50.970 their own drone business, and that's sometimes 00:17:50.970 --> 00:17:53.269 how they approach us, even before they have their 00:17:53.269 --> 00:17:56.430 part 107. But what I recommend is the crawl, 00:17:56.490 --> 00:17:58.309 walk, run approach. I tell exactly how I did 00:17:58.309 --> 00:18:01.250 it. I got into the industry, got paid to learn, 00:18:02.210 --> 00:18:04.390 used other people's equipment to learn how to 00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:09.230 maneuver the technology, and then once I built 00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:11.529 my bank account up enough, started my own small 00:18:11.529 --> 00:18:14.069 business and was able to pull in different contracts. 00:18:14.390 --> 00:18:18.029 And then I continuously rotated between W2 work 00:18:18.029 --> 00:18:21.730 and 1099 freelance and having my own small business 00:18:21.730 --> 00:18:27.170 all at the same time to kind of get things scalable. 00:18:27.470 --> 00:18:30.309 Yeah, you got to build momentum, build reputation, 00:18:31.049 --> 00:18:35.029 be able to Get new experiences to apply to to 00:18:35.029 --> 00:18:37.730 future experiences when somebody's got an RFP 00:18:37.730 --> 00:18:40.509 out or asking for Hayes is something that can 00:18:40.509 --> 00:18:44.730 be done I think I cut you off earlier. You mentioned 00:18:44.730 --> 00:18:46.809 it again. I want to come back to it and that's 00:18:46.809 --> 00:18:52.349 the disaster relief aspect of this You can you 00:18:52.349 --> 00:18:57.369 know, it's easy to visualize how This how drones 00:18:57.369 --> 00:19:00.009 are used for information gathering in the field 00:19:00.009 --> 00:19:04.450 in the battlefield Tell us how it's used in disaster 00:19:04.450 --> 00:19:08.809 relief. Perfect. So we've responded to a hurricane 00:19:08.809 --> 00:19:12.210 every year since 2020, at least one, right? Some 00:19:12.210 --> 00:19:15.269 tornadoes, stuff like that as well. The first 00:19:15.269 --> 00:19:17.670 initial use case is search and rescue. You have 00:19:17.670 --> 00:19:20.730 thermal enabled drones. It is so much easier 00:19:20.730 --> 00:19:23.369 to get in the air and fly with a thermally enabled 00:19:23.369 --> 00:19:25.549 drone, especially at nighttime and identify where 00:19:25.549 --> 00:19:29.910 people may or may not be stranded or unreachable. 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:32.779 definitely unable to see them with the naked 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:36.079 eye, right? So that is, first and foremost, the 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:39.539 most impactful use case. Search and rescue using 00:19:39.539 --> 00:19:43.859 thermal and night vision enabled drones directly 00:19:43.859 --> 00:19:47.839 after a disaster. After that would be moving 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:50.619 supplies. So these larger drones are able to 00:19:50.619 --> 00:19:53.160 do deliveries. Some of the agricultural drones 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:56.700 can carry over 100 pounds and move supplies to 00:19:56.700 --> 00:19:58.940 and from areas that may have been cut off. We 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:01.019 saw it during Hurricane Ian with Sanibel Island. 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:03.039 They were using full -blown Chinooks, right? 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:05.140 We didn't have as many delivery drones back then 00:20:05.140 --> 00:20:07.460 at our disposal, so they were using Chinooks 00:20:07.460 --> 00:20:09.000 to move things back and forth when the islands 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:12.279 cut off. During Hurricane Helene, there are thousands 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:14.240 of bridges out, so there was no way for Chinooks 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:17.000 to go to every single cut -off area in that mountainous 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.599 and highly elevated terrain, so drones were it. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:22.559 Using a delivery drone, an agricultural drone 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:25.720 that was capable of carrying a heavier capacity 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:30.559 was what was the easiest way to get supplies 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.039 to and from these areas that were cut off. I 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:36.859 know we've seen some areas were using inflatable 00:20:36.859 --> 00:20:39.960 rafts across a river with a rope. That rope can 00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:43.119 get cut and go down river and all those supplies 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:45.859 are gone, but a drone is just gonna easily pick 00:20:45.859 --> 00:20:48.819 up 100 pounds to and from every single time. 00:20:49.610 --> 00:20:52.130 They're built that way and we're talking we're 00:20:52.130 --> 00:20:56.289 talking to Chris Lewis who is the founder and 00:20:56.289 --> 00:21:02.190 grand poobah of vets to drones dot org and You're 00:21:02.190 --> 00:21:05.910 in North Carolina. So being able to use drones 00:21:05.910 --> 00:21:09.569 As a result of the damage done by Helene in North 00:21:09.569 --> 00:21:12.390 Carolina Had to be really satisfying to be able 00:21:12.390 --> 00:21:15.230 to help the community Which I think is another 00:21:15.230 --> 00:21:18.420 thing veterans want to do we want to serve? This 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:20.799 is kind of an interesting way to serve your community, 00:21:20.859 --> 00:21:25.400 isn't it? Absolutely, so I'm born and raised 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:27.339 in Louisiana, grew up right outside of New Orleans, 00:21:27.460 --> 00:21:29.960 I moved to North Carolina, well just about 20 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:34.119 years ago now after Hurricane Katrina. You thought 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:37.259 you got away from it all, didn't you? Yeah, you'd 00:21:37.259 --> 00:21:40.740 think so, yeah. Well now I chase it, so I don't 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:44.500 know, but it's a passion project of mine, right? 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:47.480 You know, the first year I got in the industry, 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:49.720 ended up down responding for Hurricane Dorian 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:53.519 in a commercial aspect, right? Doing the power 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:56.599 line inspections and then Hurricane Ian and Ida, 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:58.640 same thing, commercial aspect with a little bit 00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:01.160 of humanitarian sprinkled in, doing cell towers, 00:22:02.099 --> 00:22:06.420 capture down there too. And then disaster surveys 00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:10.039 as well. Post -Helene, we've been up there since 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:12.059 directly after the storm. Since it's in the state, 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:16.000 we had a huge huge support network from fellow 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.700 veterans across the state was sent there by the 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:20.839 National Guard Association. The United States 00:22:20.839 --> 00:22:23.220 Veterans Corps out of Raleigh was a massive support 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:25.539 network where we landed on the ground as the 00:22:25.539 --> 00:22:27.579 scouts, being the drone pilots, right? We're 00:22:27.579 --> 00:22:29.119 first ones in, we have the technology, we're 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:32.500 able to go and live off the land for weeks. at 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:35.960 a time, and then the logistics network of veterans 00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:39.119 just started flooding in. We set up shop right 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:41.299 just north of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, which 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:43.960 we still have a brick and mortar office today, 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:47.339 and then began once the search and rescue operations 00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:52.619 ended, we began mapping the area to further assess 00:22:52.619 --> 00:22:55.150 the the effectiveness of the assets that were 00:22:55.150 --> 00:22:57.309 being deployed by the 18th Airborne Corps Active 00:22:57.309 --> 00:22:59.910 Duty Army on Title 10 action. The North Carolina 00:22:59.910 --> 00:23:02.410 National Guard, Tennessee National Guard, I believe 00:23:02.410 --> 00:23:04.369 Kentucky National Guard was down there as well. 00:23:04.690 --> 00:23:08.109 And then the massive amount of veteran volunteers 00:23:08.109 --> 00:23:10.349 that showed up at the camp that we had set up 00:23:10.349 --> 00:23:13.569 just north of Spruce Pine on a fellow veteran's 00:23:13.569 --> 00:23:17.490 property. We're using the term drone, which is 00:23:17.490 --> 00:23:20.500 sort of like saying. Kleenex instead of tissue 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:24.160 paper, right? There's a zillion different types 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:28.940 of configurations and models of drones in the 00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:33.099 commercial space when you're doing these different 00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:37.940 types of inspections. How big are these drones? 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:41.299 How costly are these drones? What capabilities 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:43.480 do these drones have? Can you fill us in a little, 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:48.019 Chris? Here so some of the smaller UAVs unmanned 00:23:48.019 --> 00:23:50.779 aerial vehicles will be purely for data collection 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:54.160 You can go into some of the larger ones for agricultural 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:58.519 and delivery operations the data collection drones 00:23:58.519 --> 00:24:02.039 will cost between two and forty thousand dollars 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:03.980 really depending on the type of data you're doing 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:06.400 and collecting and if it has an interchangeable 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:08.700 sensor payload on there those sensors can range 00:24:08.700 --> 00:24:10.960 between four and twelve thousand dollars just 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:13.440 for the sensor alone let alone the drone to fly 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:17.859 it. The agricultural drones will range between 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:21.380 20 and 60 ,000. They're much larger. You need 00:24:21.380 --> 00:24:25.960 a higher level of licensing per state to be able 00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:29.119 to spread and spray different chemicals. So you'd 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:33.339 have to get your part 137 and your pesticide 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:35.359 spraying license for each individual state to 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:38.710 be able to get into that. Then there's the fixed 00:24:38.710 --> 00:24:40.650 wing drones that are used for long range beyond 00:24:40.650 --> 00:24:46.190 visual line of sight mapping and corridor mapping 00:24:46.190 --> 00:24:50.029 based off the needs. of the client or the use 00:24:50.029 --> 00:24:53.490 case you're diving into. For Helene in particular, 00:24:53.630 --> 00:24:56.529 we mapped along the rivers and the mountains, 00:24:56.650 --> 00:24:59.930 which is very hard to reach areas. We mostly 00:24:59.930 --> 00:25:02.029 use quadcopters, which are the smaller, either 00:25:02.029 --> 00:25:05.549 Mavic series from DJI or the larger M300 series, 00:25:06.569 --> 00:25:09.049 using a mechanical shutter to do photogrammetry 00:25:09.049 --> 00:25:13.130 missions. That was in support of the Appalachian 00:25:13.130 --> 00:25:15.250 Rebuild Project, which is a project we helped 00:25:15.250 --> 00:25:17.690 establish up there in the mountains to raise 00:25:17.690 --> 00:25:20.509 money and rebuild some of the houses and other 00:25:20.509 --> 00:25:22.269 churches and other infrastructure that was damaged 00:25:22.269 --> 00:25:26.170 during the storm. Doing those mapping missions 00:25:26.170 --> 00:25:30.569 was very interesting and difficult because we 00:25:30.569 --> 00:25:33.569 had to use another layer of technology called 00:25:33.569 --> 00:25:36.529 an RTK, a real -time kinetic base station that 00:25:36.529 --> 00:25:38.890 attached to the drone itself so that the drones 00:25:38.890 --> 00:25:42.420 could fly nap of the earth versus just flying 00:25:42.420 --> 00:25:46.559 at a flat altitude. This enables the drone to 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:48.700 be able to see where it is on earth. So if it's 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:51.440 flying at 300 feet it will follow the elevation 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:53.839 as it maps instead of flying straight into the 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:58.930 side of a mountain. Never good. No, I mean we 00:25:58.930 --> 00:26:01.569 do train veterans and you know not all of us 00:26:01.569 --> 00:26:04.109 eat the purple crayons so they do get crashed 00:26:04.109 --> 00:26:06.390 from time to time. I bet they do, I bet they 00:26:06.390 --> 00:26:08.910 do. As we're coming to the end of the time here 00:26:08.910 --> 00:26:13.490 again I want to thank Chris Lewis of veterans2drones 00:26:13.490 --> 00:26:18.309 .org of taking some time and it's really interesting 00:26:18.309 --> 00:26:21.950 to see how this military application is moving 00:26:21.950 --> 00:26:24.890 over to the civilian world. and that veterans 00:26:24.890 --> 00:26:27.470 have a role to play. Now, I know you got all 00:26:27.470 --> 00:26:30.849 kinds of inquiries because VA put the spotlight 00:26:30.849 --> 00:26:33.430 on you. Are you still interested in having vets 00:26:33.430 --> 00:26:36.130 reach out to you and how do they do that? Oh, 00:26:36.130 --> 00:26:38.210 absolutely. If you go onto the Vets2Drones website, 00:26:38.269 --> 00:26:40.450 you can find out how to reach out. There's a 00:26:40.450 --> 00:26:42.329 sign up form right there that'll get you onto 00:26:42.329 --> 00:26:45.369 one of our onboarding calls. We can start getting 00:26:45.369 --> 00:26:48.109 you into the mix. So we'll be providing that 00:26:48.109 --> 00:26:51.349 part 107 training for free so you can get licensed. 00:26:51.670 --> 00:26:55.559 And then there's a slew of expertise from the 00:26:55.559 --> 00:26:58.380 fellow veterans across the industry and instructors 00:26:58.380 --> 00:27:00.619 that we hire as well to provide instruction. 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:03.700 Well we appreciate the time you've given us today 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:07.339 Chris and an interesting look into this growing 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:11.000 industry of civilian drone operators and really 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:12.859 sounds like a great opportunity to veterans. 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:16.119 Thanks for your time today. Thank you Jim, appreciate 00:27:16.119 --> 00:27:20.670 you. We want to give you a little advance notice. 00:27:20.710 --> 00:27:24.609 We're going to have a Veterans Radio event on 00:27:24.609 --> 00:27:29.789 Sunday, September 28th, 2025. Radio on the River. 00:27:30.329 --> 00:27:32.950 We're doing a new location on Freedom River in 00:27:32.950 --> 00:27:36.440 Livingston County, Michigan. We want you to save 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:38.400 the date. We're going to have veteran storytelling 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:40.799 and guest speakers. We'll have raffle items, 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:45.640 great local musicians, and food. Also, uniquely, 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:47.940 there's going to be an opportunity to fly in 00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:51.140 a UH -1 Huey from the Michigan Flight Museum. 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:54.279 And maybe you can also win a free ride that way. 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:58.660 But plan on supporting Veterans Radio either 00:27:58.660 --> 00:28:02.220 by buying tickets or sponsoring Radio on the 00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:07.380 River. Contact us at Dale at VeteransRadio .org 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:10.859 or Jim at VeteransRadio .org to get more information, 00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:13.779 but we'd love to have you come out and we'd certainly 00:28:13.779 --> 00:28:16.900 love to have you sponsor. We just want to remind 00:28:16.900 --> 00:28:21.420 you that Veterans Radio podcasts are available 00:28:21.420 --> 00:28:24.880 on all your favorite streaming platforms including 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:31.339 RSS .com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Podcasts, 00:28:31.369 --> 00:28:35.089 I Heart Radio and Reeves Across America Radio. 00:28:35.750 --> 00:28:38.410 So wherever you are, you can find us, whether 00:28:38.410 --> 00:28:41.569 it's on your mobile phone or your computer or 00:28:41.569 --> 00:28:45.269 your laptop or tablet, but listen in to Veterans 00:28:45.269 --> 00:28:48.009 Radio podcast. We post something new every week 00:28:48.009 --> 00:28:51.750 and you're going to find it informative. And 00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:53.829 I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans 00:28:53.829 --> 00:28:57.670 Radio today. I am Jim Fossone. It's been a pleasure 00:28:57.670 --> 00:29:00.250 to be your host. I'm a Veterans disability lawyer 00:29:00.250 --> 00:29:03.049 at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach 00:29:03.049 --> 00:29:09.029 us at 800 -693 -4800 or legalhelpforveterans 00:29:09.029 --> 00:29:12.250 .com on the web. You can follow Veterans Radio 00:29:12.250 --> 00:29:15.549 on Facebook. and listen to its podcasts and internet 00:29:15.549 --> 00:29:20.150 radio shows by visiting us at veteransradio .org. 00:29:20.269 --> 00:29:23.670 That's veteransradio .org. We would again want 00:29:23.670 --> 00:29:26.630 to thank our national sponsors, the National 00:29:26.630 --> 00:29:30.589 Veterans Business Development Council, nvbdc 00:29:30.589 --> 00:29:35.650 .org. Legal Help for Veterans, a veterans disability 00:29:35.650 --> 00:29:39.750 law firm with a national practice before the 00:29:39.750 --> 00:29:43.400 VA. It can help you on your claims and your appeals. 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:47.660 It can be reached at legalhelpforveterans .com 00:29:47.660 --> 00:29:55.079 or 1 -800 -693 -4800. And PuroClean, a leader 00:29:55.079 --> 00:29:59.299 in property emergency services. It's the paramedics 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:03.079 of property damage, providing water damage remediation, 00:30:03.359 --> 00:30:06.859 flood water removal, fire and smoke damage remediation, 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:11.200 mold and biohazard cleanups. You can reach them 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:18.859 at puroclean .com or 800 -775 -7876. We also 00:30:18.859 --> 00:30:21.799 want to thank our local sponsors. This would 00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:27.640 include the Charles S. Kettles chapter of the 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:30.839 Vietnam Veterans of America. That's chapter 310. 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:36.180 VFW Graf O 'Hara post 423. The American Legion 00:30:36.180 --> 00:30:40.000 Erwin Preskin post 46 in Ann Arbor as well. the 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:42.880 VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, and certainly 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:45.980 the National Vietnam Veterans of America Association. 00:30:46.660 --> 00:30:49.299 You can be a sponsor by going to veteransradio 00:30:49.299 --> 00:30:53.680 .org, clicking on the About Us in our sponsors, 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:56.980 and help us out. Keep this program alive for 00:30:56.980 --> 00:31:01.519 the 21 and 22 years. Keep us going for another 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:02.720 20. Thank you.