Getting to the gate isn't the same as getting home.
AMETION is a military-first transportation network being built to close the gap between the installation gate and where a service member is actually headed — barracks, base housing, off-base home, or duty station. Built by a Marine who lived the problem. Not running yet. Being built right.
STATUS: PRE-LAUNCH · CAMP PENDLETON, CA · FORMING NOW
01
The gap
The last mile is the dangerous one.
At Camp Pendleton, the distance from a gate to a barracks, a residence, a unit, or a duty location can run anywhere from about a mile to more than ten. Most transportation apps can't get through the gate at all. Getting stuck at that last stretch — tired, impaired, or just stranded — isn't a minor inconvenience. It's a DUI-prevention problem, a liberty-incident problem, and a readiness problem that leadership deals with constantly.
Getting someone to the gate is not the same as getting them home.
02
The founder
Built by someone who's driven both sides of the gate.
23 years in the Marine Corps, retiring as a Master Sergeant. Transportation-related risk to Marines — DUI prevention, liberty incidents, stranded Marines, command-duty involvement — was a recurring leadership responsibility for two decades. Before writing a business plan, the founder drove more than 1,000 rides on a third-party rideshare platform, earning a 5.0 rating and elite-driver status, to understand the job from the inside. Then he talked it through with more than 500 service members and prospective Operators before building anything.
This didn't start as a market study. It started as something he watched happen to Marines for 23 years.
03
Who drives
Every Operator already understands the installation.
AMETION's Operator network is built from people who are already military-connected: veterans, retirees, reservists, military spouses and dependents, and active-duty personnel where duty and ethics rules allow it. Not a general marketplace with military as an afterthought — a network of people who, once vetted and properly credentialed for installation access, already understand the culture, the standards, and the trust this job requires.
04
The design
No mysterious percentages.
A few rules are non-negotiable from day one: Riders see exactly what they're charged and why. Operators see exactly what a ride pays before they accept it, not after. Tips belong to the Operator, entirely. Riders can build an ongoing relationship with an Operator they trust through a Favorite Operator system, instead of getting a random stranger every time. And a ride that starts on AMETION stays on AMETION — no quiet handoff off-platform.
05
The horizon
One base first. Then the next community that needs it.
AMETION starts at Camp Pendleton and the surrounding North County San Diego area — the founder's home base. The long-term vision reaches further, into military communities across the Southwest, Texas, and the Southeast. Each one only turns on once it's actually ready: the right insurance, the right regulatory approvals, the right people. No zone launches on a marketing timeline.
West
Southern California
Camp Pendleton — founder-led anchor. Where this begins.
Central
Texas
Long-term regional vision. Not yet active.
East
Coastal Carolina
Long-term regional vision. Not yet active.
06
Right now
We're doing the boring part first, on purpose.
AMETION has not carried a paid rider yet. Before that happens, the company is completing legal formation, securing the required state transportation authority and commercial insurance, and getting a direct, written answer from Camp Pendleton on installation access — the steps a lot of transportation startups skip or backfill after the fact. That's deliberate. A company that cuts corners on regulation and insurance doesn't stay around long enough to matter to the people it's supposed to serve.
AMETION is not currently operating rides, is not affiliated with or endorsed by any military installation, and has not been granted installation access. This page describes a company in formation.
Help launch it
Fund the first stage: entity, insurance, legal.
AMETION is funding its first stage — company formation, insurance planning, and the legal and regulatory work described above — through a community fundraiser. This is a business-development fundraiser, not an investment offering: contributions don't provide ownership or a charitable tax receipt.
If you're stationed somewhere that's ever left you stuck outside a gate, or you're the kind of driver who already knows how to get someone through one — say so. Early word from the community shapes what gets built.
Future rider
Tell us where you're based and what "getting home" actually looks like for you.
