Hi, I am Andrew Gartner, welcome to my website

I was born in central Ohio in 1993. During my childhood, I was always finding things to pull apart to figure out how they worked. As I grew older, I discovered that I loved technology, especially computers. Shortly before I reached 5th grade, I started exploring the world of music. I started with piano lessons and then trumpet, I continued playing piano for 6 years and played in the school and county bands until shortly after my high school graduation. I very much still love music and still I enjoy it as a hobby whenever time permits., music will always be part of my life.

After my graduation, I decided to join the United States Air Force. My first job choice was security forces and, thankfully, instead, I was assigned the job of Geospatial Intelligence Analyst.

My current Hobbies include computers/technology, PC gaming, music, performance cars/driving, and trying new food.

I started my career as a geospatial analyst in the U.S. Airforce. During this time, I was certified in the AF-DGS weapon system. I exploited SAR, MSI, EO/IR, MASINT, and National/Commercial imagery to produce imagery intelligence products. These products supported operations in the middle east, Africa, and Europe. Products included Indications and Warnings, Counter IED, and counter insurgent products. I voluntarily separated a few months early to pursue further opportunities as a civilian/government contractor. After about 5 years with the Air Force, I started work with BAE Systems. With BAE Systems, I worked with the 116th MIB conducting Full-Motion Video (FMV) analysis with manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. This analysis supported Counter insurgents, Troops in Contact, Personnel Recovery, and Counter IED operations. After a year of work with BAE Systems, I received an offer for a wonderful opportunity at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. In Qatar I was a contractor for FGS LLC, supporting the U.S. Central Command Partner Integration Enterprise (CPIE). During this time, I was working 6 days a week with 12-hour shifts. The work included FMV exploitation as well as providing on-the-job training for NATO coalition members. This gave me a great opportunity to learn about other cultures and I meet some great people from the U.S. and NATO nations. The work also supported counter-insurgent and counter-IED operations. Unfortunately, my time was limited to a little longer than 2 years due to budget/personnel cuts and I returned to the states where I hold my current position with Scale AI. At Scale AI I support AI data labeling.

After almost 10 years of geospatial analysis, I have started to realize that although I am good at imagery analysis, it is not what I want to be doing for my whole career. I have found that my enjoyment with computers and messing with my home network could be used as something productive. To this end, I have started my path toward Computer Networking. I started by acquiring my CompTIA Security+ AE certification. I am continuing to progress to change career fields by studying for the CompTIA Network+ and am looking to pursue a degree in Network Engineering and Security from WGU. My goal is to get this degree, which comes with multiple essential certifications, and to transition into a government IT contract. From there I would push myself to learn as much as I can, gain experience, further my certifications, and potentially get a degree in Cyber security and/or AWS. Eventually, I would like to join a civilian organization as an advisor/administrator near Huntsville, AL, or Chattanooga, TN. My goal for this is to be accomplished by the time I am 35-40 years old. I know this is an ambitious goal, however, I believe with the right motivation, good employers, and home lab tinkering, that it would be possible. I am very motivated in pursuing this path and am excited to pursue it.