John Yeast

John is a nationally recognized expert in UAS (drone) operations for public safety. As UAS Commander for St. Charles County, Missouri, John pioneered integrated drone strategies across patrol, SWAT, bomb, EMS, USAR, HAZMAT, CSI and OEM. His leadership extends to adjunct roles and steering LEDA (Law Enforcement Drone Association). John is the founder of the Eastern Missouri UAS Public Safety group, uniting 30+ teams for regional collaboration.

John P. Yeast is an internationally recognized public safety UAS and technology leader with more than 30 years of public safety service. He serves as Commander of the St. Charles County Police Department’s Aerial Intelligence Unit, leading a regional, multi-agency drone team, and as a tactical UAS operator for Regional SWAT with several hundred deployments.

In addition to his law-enforcement UAS leadership, John is the Chief Information Security Officer for the St. Charles County Ambulance District and Chief sUAS Pilot for SCCAD’s Special Operations Technology Services Unit. His team deploys UAS on major incidents including Urban Search & Rescue and Homeland Security HAZMAT responses.

He is the CEO and co-founder of Remote Tactical Solutions Group (RTS), a first-responder training and program-development company focused on responsible, effective, and scalable public safety drone operations. The RTS cadre delivers specialized UAS courses built from decades of combined operational experience, including tactical UAS operations, counter-UAS preparedness, and critical-incident integration. John has authored multiple POST-certified law-enforcement UAS curricula and published numerous industry articles.

John serves as a liaison with the Missouri Law Enforcement Legislative Coalition (LELC), working with partners including the Missouri Police Chiefs Association, FBI National Academy Associates, and the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis. He is also a law-enforcement instructor with ILEETA and a member of Missouri Task Force 1 (MO-TF1) FEMA Urban Search & Rescue. He regularly presents on UAS and leadership topics at conferences and professional events.