The Army is open for business, and it wants good ideas.

Panelists delivered that message Oct. 14 during an appearance at the Army's Warriors Corner booth at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

"We don't have all the good ideas," said Brig Gen. John Rafferty, director of the Long-Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team. As such, he said, the Army is looking for innovators. That in itself is a challenge, one panelist said.

"The problem is, how do we engage with solution providers?" said Col. Leonard Rosanoff, director of the Army Applications Lab in Austin, Texas. "How do we make it easy to work with the Army?"

For newcomers, especially, Rosanoff said the process of doing business with the Army is slow and cumbersome. 

The Army aims to streamline and simplify the problem, panelists said, by helping the problem-solvers offer their solutions. "Our garage door in Austin is always open," Rosanoff said, inviting potential problem-solvers to visit. Additionally, he said, potential partners can open the conversation via the Army Applications Laboratory website, where "accelerators, innovators and venture capitalists" can apply online. 

- Susan Katz Keating for AUSA