Army Magazine, AUSA News, and Headline News articles discussing U.S. Army Innovation.
Effective leaders can successfully solicit feedback from their soldiers, recognize bottom-up innovation and stay curious, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said during a recent episode of the From the Green Notebook podcast.
Soldiers’ ingenuity and curiosity are informing and driving Army transformation efforts, the commander of Army Futures Command said.
Through the Army’s transforming in contact initiative, “we’ve put kit in the hands of soldiers, and [we’re] getting user feedback,” Gen. James Rainey said.
“The closer you are to getting shot at, the better you are at innovating,” he said. The good news is today’s young soldiers are “phenomenally adept” at innovating. “It’s inherent,” Rainey said.
Futuristic scenarios involving telemaintenance, advanced manufacturing and the ingenuity of the American soldier are “exploding” across the Army, said Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan, deputy commanding general and acting commander of Army Materiel Command.
In remarks March 26 at the Association of the U.S. Army's Global Force Symposium and Exposition in Huntsville, Alabama, Mohan called on industry to help the Army by working together to meet the rapid innovation taking place across the sustainment enterprise.
Bottom-up innovation continues to drive the Army’s transformation as the service seeks to move “at the speed of change,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said.
“Our soldiers are very innovative. They are very welcoming of this change. They can move at this kind of speed,” George said Jan. 29 during a Coffee Series event hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army. “I’m a believer in bottom-up innovation. … Our challenge is the processes back here to support all of that.”
The Army is transforming medical care to meet soldiers and families where they are, said Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, director of the Defense Health Agency.
“We all deserve good care, and we all have an expectation that we meet people where you're at,” Crosland said Oct. 15 during a warfighter and family forum focused on transforming medical care at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition. “What I mean by that is better access and convenient care that fits in your actual lives.”
Rory Cooper, a life member of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Fort Pitt chapter, recently was honored at the White House for his work developing cutting-edge wheelchair technologies and mobility devices.
Cooper, who works with the University of Pittsburgh and the Department of Veterans Affairs, received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Joe Biden during an Oct. 24 ceremony.
Through his work, Cooper has empowered the lives of “millions of Americans,” according to the citation accompanying his award.
The XVIII Airborne Corps’ quarterly innovation challenge encouraging soldiers to submit ideas to improve operations has been expanded to include competitors from all the military services.
Called “Dragon’s Lair,” the competition follows the format of Shark Tank, the popular TV show in which contestants present their ideas to wealthy investors in the hopes their ideas will get funded.
The company behind a next-generation hoist rescue stabilization system for aeromedical evacuations has won the fourth round of the Army’s xTechSearch competition.
Vita Inclinata Technologies of Broomfield, Colorado, was named the winner of xTechSearch 4.0 in a presentation Oct. 15 during AUSA Now, the association of the U.S. Army’s virtual annual meeting. The company will receive a $250,000 prize.
The fourth round of the Army’s xTechSearch competition is moving online, with demonstrations available via livestream beginning March 17.
The demonstrations were supposed to take place during the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium and Exposition March 17–19 in Huntsville, Alabama, but the event was canceled amid growing concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
From teaming with robots to reading minds, the Army Research Laboratory made some critical science and technology advancements last year.
Topping ARL’s 2019 list is soldier-robot teaming. Researchers were able to train robots to operate in unfamiliar scenarios using new algorithms and capabilities—an improvement in artificial intelligence that’s “unseen in the industry,” according to the Army.
