Travis leads the way with Phoenix Spark

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christian Conrad
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Over the past year, Airmen from Travis Air Force Base, California, played an integral part in facilitating innovative efforts by the U.S. Air Force through their involvement in the newly-developed AFWERX program.

Since 1947, The U.S. Air Force has structured itself as the most formidable air, space and cyberspace fighting force through both its enabling and creating of innovative Airmen to seek improvements to established force structures.

As the Air Force looks towards the future, it must navigate an ever-evolving technological landscape that gives opportunity to Airmen from all ranks to contribute to the cutting edge of American power.

According to Capt. Ryan McGuire, 9th Air Refueling Squadron Phoenix Spark director, AFWERX is meant to provide Airmen the means to do just that.

“AFWERX is changing the construct of how the Air Force approaches innovation,” said McGuire. “Instead of top-down programs, AFWERX fosters grassroots innovation, creating tools for the warfighter, designed by the warfighter.  The users' needs and wants are placed first.  The focus of the program in the AFWERX model is to solve the warfighter's pain points, and AFWERX supports those efforts from the highest levels of leadership.”

Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Heather Wilson, who green-lighted the program in the fall of 2017, has been vocal in her support of AFWERX’s significance to the future of the Air Force.

“All of us know the pace of change is accelerating and the Air Force has to engage the next generation of innovators, young scientists, engineers and smart businesses to take us into the future,” said Wilson. “The Air Force has to engage with those innovators who want to help the warfighter defend our vital national interests around the world.”

The branch of AFWERX created at Travis AFB is called Spark which has gone on to be implemented by the headquarter level of the Air Force. Spark is split into different teams, or cells, all of which are designed to assist wing-level innovation, said McGuire.

“On the [Air Mobility Command] level, there’s Phoenix Spark, a Spark cell,” said McGuire. “Due to its geographical proximity to tech hubs like Silicon Valley and San Francisco, the 60th Air Mobility Wing has the distinct advantage of bringing new tech to the Air Force.”

The current Spark model that Travis implements has been so successful, in fact, that it’s been used and duplicated by other wings in AMC and in the Air Force, said McGuire.

McGuire himself has even been called on to advise new wings on how to best build and implement their own Spark programs that would best suit the needs of their bases. In addition to McGuire, the members of Phoenix Spark are dedicated to realizing the initial vision of Maj. Anthony Perez, 60th Operations Support Squadron Phoenix Spark director and creator.

Although Travis’ natural advantages in contributing to the program are not without their significance, McGuire acknowledges that new forms of technology and innovation can be created anywhere and at any time, and the Air Force must take proactive measures in integrating that technology before what is considered current becomes obsolete.

“We recently sent a team of five to Boston to be military liaisons for AFWERX's tech accelerator program,” said McGuire.  “These members will work with developing start-up companies to further tech integration into the Air Force.”

“The Spark program came from Travis,” said McGuire. “It’s our duty to not only tie ourselves into this ecosystem of development and innovation, but to lead the way in it.”