Wisconsin Army National Guard, Major, served in Iraq in 2010, Kosovo in 2011
Peter Menet, founder and chief technical officer of Oak Creek-based Menet Aero, served 21 years in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, reaching the rank of Major.
Menet joined the Guard in 1997 as a cavalry/infantry scout. In 2005, he was commissioned as an aviation officer and UH-60 Blackhawk pilot. He served in various positions in aviation while in the National Guard and reserve, including deployments to Iraq in 2010 and Kosovo in 2011.
When Menet originally started Menet Aero in 2015 as a drone-services company, it was one of the first companies in the U.S. to be approved by the FAA to perform commercial UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) services, according to Luella Dooley-Menet, Peter’s wife, a fellow veteran and vice president of administration at Menet Aero.
“One of his goals was to provide an opportunity for often-underemployed military aviation veterans to use their unique and specialized skills outside of the military,” said Dooley-Menet. “Today 50% of Menet Aero’s 18 employees are military veterans. Peter has been a powerful, visionary voice for the UAS industry.”