No matter where you look, the lessons of tragedy are all around us – often hidden in plain sight. Fire sprinklers are so ubiquitous that we don’t even notice them as we walk by. Still, they are the innovative solution to a problem that, not too long ago, destroyed entire communities.
Major conflicts have also propelled innovation that, in peacetime, has saved lives. Global Positioning Systems (GPS), originally built to guide missiles, now guide your trucks through West Texas. The EpiPen, born from battlefield auto-injectors, now saves our children from allergies at school. Even your microwave was invented due to military research into radars.
We’ve both lived in and have seen first-hand the consequences of war and conflict – one of us on the frontlines as a Navy SEAL, the other a software developer for the Department of Defense (DOD). The war in Ukraine has shown us that the speed of innovation is accelerating, and that the future of threat mitigation is in remote engagement of targets. The rapid innovation in drone technology has completely changed the landscape of national defense. That got us thinking, can this same technology be applied to protecting what we love most: our children?
This is why we co-founded Campus Guardian Angel (CGA).
In 2024, Texas had the highest number of school shootings in the nation – a sobering statistic. Politicians have long been at a loss when it comes to balancing safety and the rights of Americans to own weapons. They’ll often say that we need to “do something” but never specify what that something should be. So, what if we used the lessons of war to innovate that solution – to do something.
That is what CGA is – a proactive, forward-thinking defense system with remote protection, powered by piloted drones, guided by floor-level campus maps and flown by world-class, elite Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-Licensed operators.
Our sole mission: save lives. We accomplish this through state-of-the-art aerial drone technology that not only reduces the average police response time from three minutes to 15 seconds, but also degrades and incapacitates the shooter within 60 seconds. Beyond direct engagement, our integrated apps enhance situational awareness for law enforcement, teachers and parents – providing campuses with a hidden shield of protection while dramatically increasing real-time visibility.
When an alert is triggered – whether through a call, sensor or mobile app input – our drones launch in seconds. Within moments, they provide a live feed to law enforcement and administrators, identify the threat with precision and navigate complex school layouts with ease. By forward deploying assets, CGA is a proactive solution that stops the loss of life. The moment chaos begins, CGA acts – while the shooter is still moving, 911 is being dialed and likely before law enforcement has even arrived.
What Students Are Saying
Students across Texas understand what’s at stake, and they’re embracing our technology as a lifeline. As one senior at Boerne High School stated, “Being in a school district so close to Uvalde… that worry is always in the back of my mind… having technology like this come in and that extra layer of security we can have for students, it puts me at a peace of mind.”
Another student in Corpus Christi shared a chilling truth: “In an actual school shooting, I don’t think everyone would react the way they make us practice. They just come over the intercom and say, ‘Lockdown. Lockdown.’, and that’s it… That’s why the drones would help. We would know what is supposed to happen.”
What sets our system apart is that it doesn’t militarize schools or disrupt the learning environment. Our drones remain concealed inside secure units and are only deployed when a threat is detected or triggered through our alert system. As one student put it, this approach “would reduce the stress of being confronted with the possibility of a shooting every day.” Rather than instilling fear, our technology restores a sense of safety and security, allowing students focus on learning.
What Law Enforcement Are Saying
Beyond the peace of mind our technology brings to Texas students, law enforcement leaders also stand behind its life-saving potential. Often, officers arrive at the scene of an active shooter with no floor plan, visual confirmation of the target’s location or certainty about the situation. CGA changes that. We act as a force multiplier for law enforcement to give them more time, more clarity and a greater window to save lives and keep theirs.
Security Chief Rick Goodrich of Boerne ISD stated, “We’re always looking for any way that we can best protect our staff and students. What we’re looking at with this program would be another layer, another piece of the puzzle that we would use to protect folks.”
Chief Goodrich drove the point home, calling our system a game-changer for law enforcement: “I can tell you that everything that we’ve done so far training-wise has just been providing situational limits,” he said. “The real-time imaging and the real-time reporting from their operations center to us of what the situation is.”
He further highlighted the critical time advantage our technology delivers: “Because they’re stationed at the incident site, there’s no ramp-up time. They immediately deploy and can provide real-time intelligence on what is happening at the crisis site, while first responders are en-route. And that’s a game changer.”
Highland Park ISD Police Chief Mark Rowden echoed Chief Goodrich’s comments, stating, “[It] gives us situational awareness, so far as what we’ve got and what we’re going to encounter. That, in what we do, is absolutely imperative.”
By serving as the true first responders in an active threat situation, our aerial drones don’t just protect students – they protect the men and women sworn to defend them. These drones can engage and incapacitate a shooter before an officer ever has to walk into the line of fire. As Chief Rowden said, he prefers “having a drone that is a whole lot more replaceable than one of my officers going around a corner and seeing that danger.”
We started applying our technology to our schools with the mission to protect our children, as they are our most precious population. Yet, this technology is not just for schools. Forward-deploying defenses have unlimited applications and can be done at scale, cheaply and across the state. Every corner of Texas can benefit from this technology.
Imagine a future where you sleep soundly knowing a guardian watches your kids, your pasture, your home. We know that in Texas, your land is your castle – and someday, Campus Guardian Angel could be the watchmen on its walls.
The same battlefield innovations that support our soldiers are now ready to protect your students and your castle. Let’s not wait for another harrowing headline and be the state that takes a proactive, leading role in school safety and protection. Campus Guardian Angel is giving a new meaning to “Don’t Mess With Texas.”
Written by: Justin Marston, CEO and Founder of Campus Guardian Angel, and Bill King, Chief Tactical Officer and Co-Founder of Campus Guardian Angel
