Operation Tech Warrior 2018
On September 24–26, 2018 I had the pleasure of participating in an amazing event put together by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer Program Office out of Wright-Patterson AF Base in Ohio.
On a rain-soaked Monday morning as the rest of the world was just starting to wake up, a hodge-podge gathering of military, first responders, civilians, and entrepreneurs had already converged on the site of the National Center for Medical Readiness in Fairborn, Ohio. The venue itself consists of a small parking lot and some unassuming buildings next to what appears to be an overgrown field and an abandoned industrial plant.
But looks can be deceiving. Carefully arranged within the field are cars, trucks, school buses, tractor trailers and shipping containers. Some are overturned, while others are sitting upright. All have seen better days, and none would look out of place in a post-apocalyptic zombie movie.
Oh yeah, in case you’re wondering. Wedged in between the factory silos in that first picture is an entire airplane.
This out-of-this-world setup is the product of months of meticulous planning so that the Combatant Commands (COCOMs) of the US Military and innovation-focused small businesses from around the country have the opportunity of being thrown into close proximity with each other. From integrating actual Operator-led exercise scenarios with technologies that sometimes have barely left the labs, the devious geniuses over at AF SBIR/STTR Program (Program Director David Shahady, John Matecki, Timothy Anderl) have managed to accomplish what would otherwise have taken decades of VCs, accelerators, and governmental contracts to achieve:
An agile military that embraces and fosters innovation rather than one that finally gets around to adopting decade-old tech past their best-used-by-date.
Even prior to Operation Tech Warrior, CryptoMove already had a deep appreciation for the US Federal Government’s entrepreneurial engagement through the Department of Homeland Security’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program. The timing couldn’t have been better given the Air Force’s recent focus on Cloud initiatives and cultivating an agile DevOps mentality and The Defense Intelligence Agency’s recent invitation for our CEO to speak about “Data as a Weapons System” at DoDIIS 2018.
At Operation Tech Warrior 2018, I proudly represented CryptoMove’s next-gen solution against static data defenses alongside jaw-dropping solutions that all do their part to keep our men and women safe in the field. Things like:
- CentEye: Collision Avoidance Nano Drone
- BattleSight: Chalk visible only in the infrared spectrum
- Hyprum: Tactical Mobility System that improves extraction for wounded warriors.
- Three Firefighters: Door prop that keeps egresses open, minimizes oxygen for flames, while doing double duty to track whether first responders are safely outside or are still in the building
among a whole host of other awesome tech, too many to number.
It fills my heart with pride to have been able to slog through the drenched site of Operation Tech Warrior 2018 alongside the cadre of warriors and history-makers.
I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the tremendous work done by Technology Scouts like Brett Scharringhausen of USCENTCOM, Colonel Lee Stewart of USINDOPACOM, Technology Transfer agents like Bev Corwin, and last but definitely not least, Lisa Delp and Tracey Boettinger whose TRIAD event first opened, and then knocked down, the door to this community of inspiring people and programs.
