AFRL teams compete to solve real-world problems

  • Published
  • By Amy Rollins
  • Air Force Research Laboratory
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE --  Two teams of junior force personnel drawn from across Air Force Materiel Command are hard at work on the Air Force Research Laboratory's 7th annual Commander's Challenge, a six-month competition during which teams focus on developing a viable technology solution to a pressing, real-world warfighter need.

This year's challenge is inspired by recent news of a foiled remote-controlled airplane attack on the Pentagon. The Commander's Challenge teams will develop technical solutions aimed at thwarting potential threats posed by small, ultralight aircraft technologies, both manned and radio-controlled.

The two six-member teams will demonstrate their solutions to a panel of independent judges in a head-to-head competition in September.

The teams are working under the real-world limitations of a constrained budget and compressed schedule.

The Commander's Challenge team selection is a competitive process; members were chosen from a large pool of applicants after submitting a resume detailing background, education and experience.  Applicants could have no more than five years of professional experience.

"Challenges like this bring out the creative best in people and are extraordinary learning opportunities," said Maj. Gen. William McCasland, AFRL commander.  "Tight budget and time constraints are additional motivators, adding to the urgency we at AFRL experience as we respond to warfighter needs."

"Maj. Gen. McCasland and Col. Daniel Morin, the vice commander and Challenge Program manager, take a personal interest in this program because sparking innovation within the junior work force, keeping them engaged and developing them into innovative leaders with a wealth of experience is a high priority," said Lt. Col. Gregory Clay, the deputy program manager and operational commander for the final demonstration.

"We were looking for people with the background to understand the state of the technology and the technical aspects of the threat. However, we were also looking for people to bring a breadth of disciplines and experiences to help provide an innovative solution to the problem," continued Clay.

The teams, hosted here and at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., recently met at Wright-Patt to kick off the competition and attend an innovative product development workshop.

"The workshop emphasized the importance for the teams to systematically analyze and research the problem as it is stated, interface with potential users and strive to understand the operational environment before they start trying to construct their solutions," Clay said.

The Challenge will be the team members' full-time duty until September, when the winning team will be awarded a traveling trophy. The real winner, however, is the Department of Defense: team solutions will transition to the user as new capabilities and programs, key enabling technologies, refinements to tactics, techniques and procedures, and lessons learned to guide future efforts.