CivDiv LLC
Frontline Lessons in Drone Warfare,
Applied to your Mission.
About Me
Corey Wetherholt is the founder of CivDiv LLC and a former U.S. Marine Corps infantryman whose career has evolved alongside the rise of small unmanned systems in modern conflict. Following his service in the Marine Corps, he worked alongside partner forces in Syria and Iraq, operating in austere environments where subterranean networks, persistent aerial surveillance, and emerging drone threats shaped daily operational realities. These experiences exposed the practical challenges of mobility, survivability, and adaptation under adversary drone observation. At the outset of the war in Ukraine, Corey operated with a special operations unit during the early stages of the conflict, witnessing firsthand the rapid expansion of small UAS employment in high intensity peer warfare. Over the following year, he transitioned into instructional roles and later into dedicated sUAS ISR operations and FPV system engineering. His work included iterative field development of FPV platforms under real combat constraints, addressing system failures, RF limitations, environmental degradation, and the gap between theoretical performance and battlefield reality.
Through CivDiv LLC, Corey now provides systems level advisory support informed by that progression from infantry maneuver under drone threat to ISR operator to FPV engineer. His focus is on helping military units and defense organizations understand how small UAS systems actually perform under operational stress, how adversaries adapt, and where capability assumptions break down in real environments.
References
U.S. Army
Philippines
(AFPSOCOM)
Ukraine
(130th TDF)
Taiwan
(Various Entities)
Services
I provide FPV and small sUAS consulting through baseline knowledge briefings, hands-on flight and engineering advisory, and embedded SME support focused on real world operational constraints.
Baseline Knowledge
2 Hours
Master the tactical evolution of drone warfare through a deep dive into strike TTPs, defensive strategies, and survival actions proven in the Ukraine conflict.
FPV sUAS Flight Instruction and Training
1 Week
Master drone operations through experience-driven coaching focused on mission execution, environmental constraints, and team survivability.
FPV sUAS Engineering Instruction and Training
1 Week
Master the tactical evolution of drone warfare through a deep dive into strike TTPs, defensive strategies, and survival actions proven in the Ukraine conflict.
Realistic sUAS OPFOR
As Needed
I provide on demand OPFOR support using FPV platforms to replicate adversary tactics and stress test unit defenses against modern aerial threats.
Embedded SME Advisory Support
As Needed
Master the tactical evolution of drone warfare through a deep dive into strike TTPs, defensive strategies, and survival actions proven in the Ukraine conflict.
Experiences
US Marine Corps
(2015 - 2017)
- Trained on over a dozen weapon systems as a rifleman.
- Trusted with $500,000 worth of equipment.
- Left with an honorable type discharge.
Iraq / Syria (2018 - 2022)
- Commanded a squad sized Guerilla fighter unit in an active warzone in support of the international coalition's Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) against ISIS for one year.
- Remained casualty free while defending our extensive self made tunnel system against a near peer threat.
- Dug and improved fighting positions, while considering aerial threats such as drones.
Ukraine (2022 - 2024)
- Conducted drone operations at a critical section of the Ukrainian frontline.
- Developed a grassroots FPV drone unit that successfully operated and engineered drones with limited resources.
- Engineered multiple types of FPV drones, including a bombing drone with GPS.
Taiwan / Philippines / Poland (2025 - 2026)
- Instructed the U.S. Instructed and Trained a U.S. Army unit multiple times on sUAS/cUAS during their Poland deployment.
- Lead FPV type OPFOR for Taiwanese defense entities.
- Trained AFPJSOC on Flight, Engineering, and use-cases for sUAS.
Corey Wetherholt is a former U.S. Marine Corps infantryman with operational experience alongside partner forces in Syria and Iraq, early stage deployments in Ukraine, and subsequent work as an sUAS ISR operator, instructor, and FPV systems engineer.
His career spans conventional forces, special operations, active conflict zones, and Indo-Pacific pre-conflict preparation, giving him a deep understanding of how small unmanned systems perform and fail under real world operational conditions.
A cross theater sUAS operational and systems advisory firm informed by live conflict, SOF environments, and near peer preparation contexts.