A company operating in Okotoks is helping veterans transition to civilian life by teaching them how to operate drones.
Veterans Elite Drone Training Services, which has branches across Canada, often holds classes at the Okotoks Air Ranch Airport where almost all students are veterans that have recently left military life.
The transition can be hard for former military members as many often find it difficult to find another career path. Veterans Affairs Canada provides funds for veterans when they retire in order to retrain in whatever industry they pick.
Veterans Elite provides training that will allow its students to garner skills usable over an umbrella of applications.
Rob Calvert, the regional manager for Western Canada who lives in the Okotoks area, travels across the country to teach students about safe drone operation.
Because Veterans Elite is run by veterans, its instructors often have military backgrounds, making it easier to connect with students.
“We have veterans teaching veterans, we speak the lingo. We understand what they have gone through, and we have been there,” said Calvert, who served 24 years in the army with another five in the reserves.
Now 73 years old, Calvert found a great love for drones and the technology later in life.
He said some veterans find the process of a flying a drone therapeutic. Veterans often remark to him that it's fun and relaxing for them, something that keeps them fully engaged and distracted.
Calvert said it even provides PTSD relief for some students.
Most of the veterans that graduate the training program finish with an advanced operation license and a drone given to them by Veterans Elite.
Calvert explained how modern drones like the ones given to program graduates operate with a large number of sensors and much automation.
“It knows exactly how far it is off the ground, it knows which direction its pointing, and it knows where it's moving,” he said. “It’s incredible engineering.”
Calvert is adamant the drone industry is not just a young man’s game anymore, and most of the students learning to operate them professionally are at military retirement age.
With increasing applications and specializations, the industry needs qualified drone pilots more now than ever, he said.
Calvert, like a lot of his peers, is bullish on drone tech in Canada, which is being applied in a multitude of industries.
Common applications today include photography, building inspections and search and rescue, but the industry is starting to see some game-changing applications of the technology.
One such use is thermal imaging cameras on drones. They can be used in a variety of ways, including detecting hot spots on power lines or machinery, providing cost and time savings along with increased safety.
One project undertaken by FireSwarm Solutions in B.C. is promising huge results in fighting wildfires. The project uses autonomous drones to set up and fill water basins in the forest, allowing firefighters access to water deep into the brush.
And, of course, drone air delivery services are sure to start official operations sometime in the next few years. These services are backed by e-commerce giants like Walmart and Amazon and will provide extremely quick parcel delivery via drones.
The technology is really still in its introduction phase as many Canadians can be sure to have their lives affected by drones in the future, including in many ways we can’t predict now, Calvert believes.
With the training provided, veterans can choose what type of career they wish to pursue, graduates given the opportunity to choose their next mission.
They are given a chance to contribute to Canada’s future, this time not in uniform, but with cutting edge technology.
