JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Twenty-one military veterans gathered at the CSX Moncrief Yard on Tuesday for a hands-on training session in robotics and drone flight.
The program, organized through a partnership between the Wounded Warrior Project and CSX, aims to help former service members build marketable technical skills to secure their financial futures.
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The event marks the continuation of a collaboration between WWP and CSX that has spanned more than five years, serving more than 200 veterans nationwide.
Kevin Rasch, regional director for the Wounded Warrior Project, emphasized that career training helps reduce financial strain for former service members.
“We know that the financial stressor of finding work is a mental stress issue that will be able to be a marketable skill or work as a drone pilot. To start opportunities for this is just something that is going to broaden your opportunity,” Rasch said.
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Among the attendees was David Schneider, a 20-year Coast Guard veteran who completed his training and earned a drone license to launch a private business in St. Johns County.
“Between the two, CSX and the Wounded Warriors sponsoring this, I appreciate it because I wouldn’t be able to see the different aspects and being on the way to owning my own business,” Schneider said.
Schneider explained that commercial drone piloting also allows veterans to assist locals during emergency situations, including searches for lost pets and a recent search for a missing teenager in St. Johns County.
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“Not only doing it for my business but also for finding animals or just the other day with the missing teen in St Johns,” Schneider said.
Participants worked directly with high-end equipment during the demonstration, including specialized drones valued at more than $20,000. Brian Morgan, senior community investment analyst for CSX and a veteran himself, said the hands-on instruction provides meaningful career networking.
“It’s based on saying much more than thank you to a veteran, it’s getting them out there and getting them involved and networking with all this different technology,” Morgan said.
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