More than 200,000 service members leave active duty each year, and for many, the return to civilian life brings an uncertain search for what comes next. A nonprofit called Vets to Drones is working to give that transition a clearer direction by training veterans for careers in the commercial drone industry.
The organization was founded by Marine Corps veteran Chris Lewis, who said he understood the disorientation that follows separation from the military firsthand. “I ended up right back in the civilian world, searching for answers I guess,” Lewis said.
Lewis had worked with drones briefly during deployment and came to believe the growing unmanned aircraft industry offered real opportunity for veterans leaving service. He launched Vets to Drones with a fellow Marine who died in 2022, a loss that Lewis says reinforced his commitment to the mission. He has pointed to the overlap between field and infantry skills learned in the military and the demands of drone operations as a natural fit for veterans entering civilian work.
The nonprofit has since grown into a pipeline connecting veterans to training, FAA commercial drone certification, and paid work. Lewis said participants have taken part in search and rescue missions, assisted farmers, supported first responders during natural disasters, and provided security operations support. After Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana, Lewis said the group produced an aerial 360-degree view of the damage, similar to Google Earth imagery but “from the sky with the drone.”
From the Battlefield to the Insurance Business
Marine veteran Dusty Lopez is one example of how the training has translated into a business. After leaving the military, Lopez moved into disaster recovery and insurance work before starting his own company, Struction Solutions, which handles insurance claims and assessments.
Lopez connected with Vets to Drones after clients began asking whether he had drones available to assist with jobs. That inquiry led to a partnership with the organization, and Lopez now operates nearly a dozen drones for different tasks, including a tethered model — typically used by law enforcement or first responders for overwatch — capable of staying airborne for days at a time.
“I still live by the Marine Corps motto: honor, courage, and commitment,” Lopez said, crediting his time in the branch with shaping his approach to his post-military career.
A Growing Network
Vets to Drones now counts nearly 8,000 members, with hundreds already licensed as commercial drone pilots, including veterans trained through work in California wildfire mitigation and recovery efforts in Louisiana.
For Lewis, the payoff comes in the calls he gets from veterans who have found steady work through the skills they built with the organization.
“It’s [an] incredible feeling when I get that phone call [that] says, ‘hey, man, thank you. I had no idea this was a thing. And now I’m able to feed my family with this new skill,'” Lewis said.
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