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Tag: innovation

Shaking things up: 3D-printed tray stops mess on flights
July 23, 2025 — U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Joshua Morrison, a flight attendant with the 1st Airlift Squadron, designed and 3D-printed a smart tray to prevent salt and pepper shakers from spilling during turbulence on executive flights at Joint Base Andrews, July 21, 2025...

Joint Base Andrews welcomes arrival of all-electric aircraft after historic flight
October 19, 2023 — AFWERX, in collaboration with one of its primary division partners, BETA Technologies, an electric aerospace company, landed an ALIA conventional take-off and landing, all-electric aircraft at Andrews during a multi-stop flight from Vermont to Florida, Oct. 18. AFWERX, an innovation program of the Department of the Air Force, and BETA are collaborating in the development of advanced electric vertical takeoff and landing, eVTOL, aircraft for potential military applications. This partnership leverages BETA's knowledge in eVTOL design and AFWERX's network to advance the development of zero-emission aircraft for military operations. ...

CATM instructors gun for change
July 5, 2023 — Combat Arms Training and Maintenance instructors came from across the nation to attend the Combat Arms Working Group project at Joint Base Andrews, Md., June 26, 2023. The goal of the working group was to collaborate on current issues in the CATM field and focus on long-term, sustainable solutions...

Accelerating change at JBA’s SparkX Cell
April 11, 2022 — The SparkX Cell Innovation and Idea Center has been using creative ways to enhance the skills of Airmen and improve units on Joint Base Andrews by allowing personnel to chase after innovative solutions since January 25, 2019...

Airman receives Black Belt Certification for innovation efforts
March 7, 2022 — Tech. Sgt. Jules Ponton, 316th Force Support Squadron manpower analyst and now a part of the Education with Industry program, was awarded a Black Belt Certification in continuous process improvement on Feb. 16, 2022, here. Less than 300 people in the Air Force have reached that level of training. This accomplishment required teamwork, demonstration of team leadership, striving for improvement and efficient outcomes and aligning their organization’s operations to its vision. “I had the honor and privilege of awarding Ponton with the Department of the Air Force Continuous Process Improvement Black Belt Certification,” said William Gautier, Spark Tank director. “This was not an easy accomplishment as it required application of Black Belt competency-level knowledge to a real problem our Airmen and Guardians face.” ...

SparkX Cell accelerates change for base dental clinic
February 8, 2022 — Tech. Sgt. Ana Gomez-Martinez, 316th Wing Dental Squadron, oral prophylaxis assistant, removed the broken attachment from the X-ray machine and replaced it with the new 3-D part from SparkX Cell. ...

JBA’s Child and Youth program vs COVID-19 during Month of the Military Child
April 30, 2020 — April is the Month of the Military Child, a time when the Department of Defense, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the military community honor the sacrifices made by military families worldwide, especially the experiences of children...

Competing of the minds: Air Force Spark Tank 2020 open for submissions
September 4, 2019 — A respirator with a built-in two-way communication system. A semi-truck trailer that can reduce aircraft deployment from 72 hours to five hours. A chemical agent detection device that runs on renewable energy. ...

Air Force Bioenvironmental Engineers bring advanced exposure surveillance to the front lines
October 30, 2017 — Modern battlefields have many sources of potentially harmful airborne substances, but that is not the only place that Airmen can be exposed to harmful environmental factors. Air Force bioenvironmental engineers are developing technology to track, catalogue, and provide useful data about environmental exposures that will help identify battlefield threats in real time and inform Airmen of the everyday exposures that affect their health...

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Feature

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jovan Berry, poses for a portrait.

How a Lifetime of Training Saved a Life

“You better not die; the kids would be so mad.” It’s a surreal scene. The smell of a small, old bathroom, the endless noise of security forces over the radio. A man, blue in the face, face down on the floor in a dire medical situation. And a...

Commentary

Lessons in leadership for new supervisors

I had the honor of serving as class mentor for Airman Leadership School Class 25-Foxtrot, and I was guest speaker at their graduation on Aug. 28, 2025. Watching these dedicated Airmen complete their first level of professional military education was...