Joe Dames
Founder and CEO
Why did you become a defense contractor?
Serving my country as a career Infantrymen was always my plan however, my career in the military was cut short after sustaining wounds in combat on my 4th deployment to Iraq with 2nd Ranger Battalion. Considering the circumstances, I was very lucky that all I walked away with was shrapnel and burns to my right leg and a pulmonary embolism in my right lung. Especially since the suicide bomber detonated his vest only 5 feet from my position. I loved my job, the mission, the men I served with and my unit. Unfortunately, I had to make a difficult choice after 3 months in the hospital. Fight like hell to get back in the mix as a desk jockey or redirect my passion towards a new career path that would allow me to influence the next fight with disruptive, cutting-edge technology. Either way, I was getting back in the fight, however the latter option would allow me to impact the fight in a much bigger way for all future Warfighters.
Why did you start Sherpa 6, Inc?
We’ve all heard the business fable about The Chicken and the Pig. For those that haven’t, it comes down to commitment to a project or a cause. The pig has to sacrifice his life for breakfast while the chicken only has to produce eggs which are not difficult and requires partial involvement. My co-founders and I wanted to build a brand of warfare SME’s that combined ingenuity, innovation, engineering and experience to produce disruptive technologies at the pace of war. In order to do so, we needed to find like-minded, highly skilled professionals across multiple engineering disciplines that were committed to our mission of taking the burden off the Warfighter. We also wanted to create a culture that replicated that of a high-standard, highly-specialized unit that many of our former military Sherpa’s once proudly served. Never take on a difficult mission without your Sherpa.
Why the name Sherpa 6, Inc?
In short, a Sherpa is a mountaineering expert that makes a living by safely guiding customers up and down the most difficult mountains on the planet. They are tough, disciplined, experienced, and know the mountain better than anyone else. The six in Sherpa 6 is the designator of a leader under NATO naming conventions.
