August 4, 2025
CMI2 Interns are helping drive innovation nationwide.
As the 2025 Ignite Internship program wraps up this week, we’re celebrating the incredible contributions of our interns at CMI2’s Adaptive Experimentation Facility in Clay County, West Virginia.
To kick things off, we’re spotlighting two standout former interns who have grown into full-time leaders for CMI2: Landon Williams and Joshua “Josh” Walker.
Their collective journey reflects not only their own professional growth but also the evolution of CMI2’s mission in Clay County, from a bold idea to a thriving innovation hub at Fort Andrew in Lizemores.
Joining the Team
In 2023, the inaugural internship program in Clay County included fewer than 10 participants. Landon and Josh joined the program and experienced significant success that summer, which led to year-round opportunities during the 2023-2024 school year.
In the spring of 2024, Landon was graduating from Clay County High School, while Josh was concluding his first year at Bridge Valley. As the team prepared to support the second year of the Clay County internship program, two significant events impacted planning.
Based on customer demands and interests, the CMI2 facility had to expand its footprint and provide easier access, moving from the original site location. Concurrently, CMI2 planned to expand its Clay County internship program, aiming to accommodate a total of 15 interns for the summer of 2024.
To decommission the original site, Landon and Josh played a key role in relocating CMI2’s operations to the current Fort Andrew location in Lizemores. The two helped with construction, cleanup, and the transformation of a derelict building into a functional base camp hub, while also managing the next group of interns.
Building on the success of the original internship, the 2024 program tripled its intake compared to 2023, welcoming 26 new hires. With expanded site responsibilities and a larger cohort to manage, both Landon and Josh were brought on to support program leadership and operational oversight.
Having a hands-on role in developing the Lizemores site and managing the next wave of interns, Josh and Landon felt a strong sense of ownership.
“It feels like we’re more connected to this place,” Josh shared. “We didn’t really help set up stuff or build up there [in Fola], whereas with this property, we were here from the beginning — from where it was a dilapidated building, to now. We were there through that entire process.”
Landon echoed this sense of involvement and connection, not just to the facility, but to the surrounding community.
“This site gives us more of a connection to the community, too. They’re able to see us evolve and get better, and folks are able to stop in and talk to us, and we’re able to tell them what this place is.”
Today, Josh supports Fort Andrew makerspace innovation, helping develop hands-on tech solutions while also supporting the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-focused outreach effort at CMI2 known as ILLUME. Landon manages inventory and supports site logistics to keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes.
Beyond Clay County
Since their intern days, Landon and Josh have grown alongside CMI2 and the Adaptive Experimentation Center, watching the company’s innovation impact expand well beyond the borders of Clay County as they have evolved into their new roles.
In addition to their daily job tasks, the two support major initiatives, such as the CMI2 Driving Innovation in Realistic Training (DIRT) Days events, which bring cutting-edge ideas directly to Soldiers in real-world training environments, like Fort Andrew.
Most recently, the two traveled to Hawaii for a week to support experimentation set up for the upcoming xTechPacific 2025 competition at U.S. Army Schofield Barracks in Honolulu.
“I really enjoyed getting out and being able to see the different parts and the effects that this company has across the country and in the world,” Josh said. “Being able to go to Hawaii and seeing this effect that CMI2 has — it was really like, ‘Okay, we’re way bigger than I thought it was!'”
The experience of representing CMI2 and flying to Hawaii demonstrated how far CMI2’s mission has evolved and how far Josh and Landon have come with it.
A Homegrown Pipeline of Talent
Landon and Josh are two examples of the CMI2 internship program’s success. Their stories highlight the core purpose of our mission in Clay County to cultivate the next generation of innovators by introducing them to real-world national security problems.
About the Ignite Internship Program
The CMI2 AEF Ignite Intern Program is an immersive, full-time summer employment on-site experience held at the AEF Fort Andrew Facility in Lizemores, West Virginia. Running from early June through the beginning of August, the program offers interns the opportunity to work approximately 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday.
CMI2 offers paid internships, ensuring participants receive compensation for their time and contributions. In addition to daily hands-on experience, interns benefit from weekly presentations by distinguished military and industry leaders, who provide unique insights into real-world applications and career paths in the innovation and defense sectors.
