Battlelabs help identify problems facing warfighters

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chris Jordan
  • 16th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFPN) --  Airmen from seven Air Force battlelabs visited Air Force Special Operations Command headquarters here recently in an effort to identify the top 10 issues on the minds of warfighters.

The battlelabs’ Warrior Outreach program provides an opportunity for battlelab staffs to meet face-to-face with the warriors, identify their problems and create initiatives to solve them. The battlelabs were established in 1997 with a mission to generate high-payoff initiatives with minimum cost that could be integrated quickly into today’s Air Force and its vision of global engagement.

Generally consisting of 25 active-duty Airmen, additional contractors and a budget of about $4.5 million, each battlelab partners with the major commands, industry, academia, warfighters, service and national laboratories, and all branches of the military to leverage leading-edge technologies to provide results, usually within 18 months, officials said.

“We take real issues ... and produce real results that affect the mission capabilities and safety of our warfighters,” said Col. Larry Felder, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battlelab commander. “We have a specialized team that can work a specific problem within a specific command.”

After interviews and visits during Warrior Outreach, battlelab officials generate a list of issues compiled from data of specific concerns, Colonel Felder said. The list is included in the outbrief to the commander on the final day of the visit.

Battlelab officials, using the data as focal points, craft initiatives aimed at solving the warfighters’ concerns. Phased initiatives are researched, developed, executed and, if successful, presented to the commander for further consideration and use in the field.

“Our goal is to make things better ... which in turn affects everyone in the command, including family members,” said Lt. Col. Steven Ward, a UAV Battlelab division chief.

Ultimately, battlelab initiatives are most successful when transitioned to the warfighter, said Maj. Jim Guerin, AFSOC conference coordinator.

“I’m sure the battlelabs will help enhance the capabilities that AFSOC presents to help win the war on terror,” Major Guerin said. “Many potential solutions will stretch across all Air Force commands.”