I Was Wrong About These Kids

Running the cadets through a live drone setup out of the back of the truck.

I keep saying it, so I'll say it again: I am blown away by these students.

Working with Western High's JROTC drone team has been one of those rare moments where I am putting my foot in my mouth in the best way possible. When we started, I figured I would have to control it and dictate the direction. That is not what happened. These cadets were already well on their way to running the team on their own, and they were doing it professionally. I told LTC Wendell Johnson straight up how wrong I was.

There are more than twenty cadets interested in this team, and the leadership inside it is what got me. One cadet took it on himself to teach the others how to write the scripts that fly the drone autonomously, since that is one of the events they compete in. Another cadet found they love flying and stepped into the pilot role. They are also preparing for an event where one student flies an obstacle course essentially blind while a teammate calls the route as their navigator. Watching them split the work and own their pieces, it feels like being a warrant officer again. I am there to advise, and they are the young leaders figuring it out.

Here is the part I want to be honest about. We enjoy this as much as the work that pays the bills. There is a lot of aviation knowledge sitting between the people on our team, and none of it does any good locked up. Sharing it with our community is some of the most satisfying work we do, and we are choosing to do it now, while this industry is still young enough that getting in early actually means something.

Going over the controls with the cadets before they take the sticks.

Putting that knowledge to work meant more than talking, so we brought in real capability for the cadets to get their hands on. Lazaro Guzman from Vetted Security Solutions, a former DHS agent who retired around the time I left the Army, spent a Saturday with us. He set up the updated WarDragon drone detector while we flew, so the cadets could see how the detection side and the flying side play against each other. Laz told me afterward that they asked really sharp questions, which tracks with everything else I have seen from them. That is a man giving up his weekend for kids he had never met, and I do not take that lightly.

Laz from Vetted Security Solutions breaking down the WarDragon detector for the team.

The school year is over, but the work is not. We are training through the summer at our HQ so the students have a place to keep building. I am going to teach and mentor this group as their understanding grows, and the goal I am driving toward is the Part 107. The FAA lets them sit for that exam at 16, so that is the moment I am aiming them at, and I want them to pass it. A commercial drone license at that age separates them from other students applying to a program or a first job, and it gives them something real to fall back on either way.

The team after a full day of flying and hands-on work with the gear.

This is the kind of work I want AeroVis known for. We are going to keep showing up for our community, and we are going to keep sharing what we know.If you want to help the Western High drone team, reach out to me directly at Kpadilla@flyaerovis.com.

Whatever support looks like for you, these students are putting in the work and they could use more people in their corner.