AFMC announces MAJCOM Spark Tank semifinalists

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — The Air Force Materiel Command has selected five semifinalists from more than 100 submissions to the command-wide 2022 Spark Tank competition.

The semifinalists will present their innovative and game-changing ideas, Oct. 8, to a panel of leaders during the fall AFMC Senior Leader Conference. The top two ideas as identified by the panel will represent the command in the 2022 Air Force-wide Spark Tank competition.

“A last minute push helped us to exceed the number of submissions received last year, which tells us that our AFMC Airmen continue to think outside-of-the-box to find ways to do things better despite the challenges of working in a COVID environment,” said Bethany Weiser, 2022 AFMC Spark Tank coordinator and member of the Commander’s Accelerated Initiatives Office. “In addition to the five semifinalists who will present their ideas to our senior leadership, we received a number of additional submissions that we plan to work outside of the competition. Our military and civilian Airmen are helping build the AFMC and Air Force we need for the future.”

The AFMC semifinalists are:

• Flying Log Interactive Test System, submitted by Greg Monroe, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
  • The web-based system would allow for coordinated test planning across geographically-dispersed teams across the world.
• Part Supply Technicians Integration, submitted by Jason Davis, Air Force Sustainment Center
  • By utilizing a smart DD-1348 with integrated QR codes instead of four separate bar codes, service members can get real-time updates for their assets.
• Ground Surgical Team Tactical Anesthesia Workstation submitted by Maj. Thomas Heering, Air Force Research Laboratory
  • Surgical teams lack the ability to secure vital equipment when mobile or in deployed environments. The TAW seeks to solve this problem on the field by replicating the safety systems in place within in-garrison hospitals.
• Forms 202 and 107 Technical Assistance Request (TAR) Consolidation, submitted by Zach Pickard, Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters
  • This idea seeks to consolidate the 202 and 107 TARS into a single form that leverages an automated system and can be used by any field or depot maintenance organization.
• F-22 Open Systems Architecture Rack, submitted by Maj. Alan Black, Air Force Test Center
  • The F-22 was recently upgraded with an Open Systems Architecture Rack. This idea seeks to leverage and partner with the F-35 FoX Table effort to enable interoperability between the systems and airframes.

For more information on the AFMC We Need effort and to submit a game-changing idea to the team, visit https://www.afmc.af.mil/About-Us/AFMCweNeed/. The Commander’s Accelerated Initiatives Office continuously seeks new ideas and innovations that can improve processes across the command.

The Air Force Materiel Command has selected five semifinalists from more than 100 submissions to the command-wide 2022 Spark Tank competition.