- Hacking Acquisitions The Defense Innovation Unit is in the business of finding solutions to military problems in the commercial marketplace. First, they investigate technological solutions to address a military need or problem. Then, they determine the best commercial company to provide that solution and facilitate an agile acquisition of the technology. DIU can then assist as the […]
- Podcast – Dr. Will Roper The inaugural Airman Podcast for the At Altitude channel features a conversation with Dr. Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. As the Air Force’s Service Acquisition Executive, Dr. Roper is responsible for and oversees Air Force research, development and acquisition activities totaling an annual budget in excess […]
- Effective Risk The Air Force’s history is a timeline rich in success stories of innovation and calculated risks taken by Airmen to achieve a legacy of dominance in airpower, yet behind any of these success stories there’s a series of lessons learned from failure. Yet today many Air Force senior leaders express somewhere along the way in […]
- Time is of the Essence In early 2019, Airman interviewed Dr. Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. As the Air Force’s Service Acquisition Executive, Dr. Roper is responsible for and oversees Air Force research, development and acquisition activities totaling an annual budget in excess of $40 billion for more than 465 acquisition […]
- Sustaining Balance Lt. Gen. Robert D. McMurry, Jr. is the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The organization is the single center responsible for total life cycle management covering all aircraft, engines, munitions and electronic systems. It is one of six centers reporting to Air Force Materiel Command. The men […]
- Persistent Engagement In October 2018, Airman Magazine sat down for a conversation with Maj. Gen. Robert J. Skinner, Twenty-fourth Air Force commander; Air Forces Cyber commander and Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber commander, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. He is responsible for providing Air Force component and combatant commanders with trained and ready cyber forces to plan, direct and […]
- Out of the Box Dr. Richard Joseph, chief scientist of the Air Force, believes “failures have their seeds planted in success.” Bureaucracies within the Air Force perpetuate what works. Yet, they often cling to ideas, systems or methods beyond the point of effectiveness – producing failure from that success. They also tend to eliminate ideas and people that challenge […]
- Changing The Story In October 2016, Dr. Eric Schmidt, then the Executive Director of Alphabet, Inc., Google’s parent company, and chairman of the Defense Innovation Board (DIB), independent technology and capability advisors to the Secretary of Defense, were touring the Combat Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Within the CAOC, U.S. Air Forces […]
- The Agile 99th Weight was the issue. The B-25B, carrying a full combat load, was just too heavy to takeoff from the deck of the USS Hornet. While the nation was still reeling in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold, Chief of Staff of the Army Air Force, assigned Lt. Col. James […]
