Lt. Col. Dave Harden, USAFR, chief architect at AFWERX, the US Air Force’s innovation cell, Lauren Knausenberger, Spark Tank director, and Master Sgt. Bartek Bachleda, USAF, a KC-135 boom operator with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, McConnell AFB, Kansas, and this year’s champion, discuss how AFWERX and the service-wide innovation contest it co-hosted with Airmen Powered by Innovation foster creative problem-solving in the Air Force, Bachleda’s winning idea — a platform that can reduce back and neck injuries in boom instructors, and slash the Air Force’s medical costs by $132 million per year — and more during a Feb. 22, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Air Force Association’s 2018 Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida. Our coverage is sponsored by Leonardo DRS.
