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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas - Sgt. Brandon Schiller assigned to HHC, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, won first place in the United States National Drone Association (USNDA) online VelociDrone competition at Fort Cavazos, Texas, May 7, 2025.
The USNDA is an organization that focuses on the rapid development of service members in the understanding of drone tactics. They provide competitions to not only showcase the new age of drone warfare but also test their operators from each U.S. military service branch. This year, the organization held an online competition before inviting the winners to the official event held in Washinton D.C. this summer.
Raised in Killeen, Texas, Schiller enlisted in the U.S. Army on September 18, 2019, with the motivation of continuing a legacy started by his family.
“A lot of my family served and did aviation,” said Schiller. “So, it brought me to the aviation realm of the Army. Where I decided to become a UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) maintainer.”
As an unmanned aircraft systems maintainer with the military occupational specialty of 15E, Schiller is motivated in his craft of understanding and operating the tasks required to run a complex system. This passion would soon lead him to join a team bigger than himself.
“This past year, I’ve been able to be a part of the Modern Adversary Tactics team,” said Schiller. “I've been able to fly FPV (First Person View) and other small UAS. It's given me a lot of practice.”
After hearing about the USNDA’s VelociDrone online competition through his peers, Schiller decided to put all the skills he learned throughout his career to the test. While facing competitors from across the nation during the first round of this competition held online, ranging from college students to service members, Schiller achieved a milestone that would prove his skills are assets to unmanned aircraft system missions.
“I just look at it as a good opportunity,” said Schiller. “I know it’s not going to be easy, but I look forward to working with like-minded people in the UAS community because there are a lot of innovators out there.”
Sgt. Brandon Schiller will represent the U.S. Army in the in-person USNDA VelociDrone competition held in Washington, D.C., this June.
| Date Taken: | 05.13.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2025 19:52 |
| Story ID: | 498006 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade Trooper wins drone competition., by SGT Hayden Epperley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
