JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – A deep dive into innovation through the lens of a Spark Tank submission called “Next Gen Debrief” is the focus of the latest episode of "The Air Force Starts Here," released Feb. 9, 2021.
Dan Hawkins from the Air Education and Training Command public affairs team spoke virtually with Maj. Kevin Hawkins and 1st Lt. Adam Treece from the 56th Operational Support Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, who along with Dylan Kerr, a student at Arizona State University, about their creation of a 3-D augmented reality system that will revolutionize the way pilots conduct mission debriefs.
Modernizing the Air and Space Forces is a priority for the Air Force and aggressively and cost-effectively modernizing education and training to transform the way Airmen learn is one of AETC’s top priorities. As part of AETC’s team that will represent the command at Spark Tank 2021 coming up in Feb. 24-26 during the virtual Air Force Association Aerospace Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., Maj. Hawkins and Treece talk about how they adapted Microsoft HoloLens2 smart-glasses into a tool aircrews can use to conduct detailed mission debriefs from an interactive, three-dimensional perspective.
Treece also talks about how the Spark Tank competition is a huge part of how the command values innovation and operationalizing Airmen’s best ideas to improve operations.
The professional development podcasts are designed to help communicate and inform Total Force Airmen across the globe on relevant, timely topics related to the recruiting, training, education and development fields and can be listened to on the government network on the AETC website, DVIDS, or via mobile application as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play. Future episodes are set to cover a wide range of topics, including force development, and much more.