ATHENA at Sea

By CDR Michele Day

On April 14th, while transiting the South China Sea, USS RONALD REAGAN hosted the first ATHENA project event on an aircraft carrier. The audience, not knowing what to expect, was full of questions and brimming with excitement!

Flight Deck Roomba
LT David Levy

LT Levy’s idea leverages commercial technology to lessen the burden on the flight deck crew by programming a modified Roomba to clean the flight deck during non-flight operations maintenance periods. Many night after flight operations have concluded the aviation maintainers conduct maintenance on the flight deck, where the darkness can make it difficult to find small nuts and bolts when dropped. The Flight deck Roomba would drive a pre-programmed route to assist with clean-up after nighttime maintenance. As Foreign Object Debris (FOD) walk down impacts a large portion of the crew, there was a lot of interest, however LT Levy was adamant that the Flight Deck Roomba would not replace FOD walk down as nothing is as good as the mark-one-mod-zero eyeball for finding FOD. Much of the audience questioned the necessity and value of the flight deck Roomba if it would not replace FOD walk down.

LT Greg Hahn answers questions during the Q&A portion of his pitch.

Custom Boot Insoles
LT Greg Hahn

“How many of you stand on a steel deck for more than 10 hours a day?” posed LT Hahn. Hands across the room shot up from tired and sweaty sailors. He then went on to describe a custom insole made from recycled materials that will not only provide cushion, but will increase cooling and circulation in work boots. LT Hahn stated he did not think the boot manufacturers contracted by the Navy would include custom insoles, but these could easily be purchased after market. During the Q&A session many questions were raised regarding how these insoles are different than insoles already on the market and if the Navy would provide money for purchase of such insoles.

LT Aaron Kakiel
Laser Pointer Alternative

Over the past 10 years we’ve seen the presentation standard move from a stick pointer to the laser pointer and the slide projector five way to the overhead projector and the LCD monitor. LT Kakiel’s idea is to replace the laser pointer with technology that exists in most family homes today by re-purposing the motion capture technology from gaming consoles. He explained two primary benefits; 1) The beam from laser pointers is often refracted when it hits the LCD screen, resulting in the laser beam shining into the audience members’ eyes. 2) The laser pointer presentation does not lend itself to collaboration. By utilizing motion capture technology, more team members can participate in the meetings. During the Q&A session the discussion centered on the need to modify the technology such that random movements (stretching, drinking water, etc) are not captured and displayed on screen.

PRT Spotcheck Program
AOAN Walter Johnson

AOAN Jackson’s pitch was simple and passionate. Far too many sailors prepare for the Physical Fitness Assessment a few weeks before the PFA and then neglect their fitness and diet until the next PFA cycle. By instituting random spot checks, all sailors would be forced to maintain a steady strain approach to working out and eating healthy. During the Q&A session an audience member stated the new PFA instruction had an allowance for commands to conduct spot PFA’s if a member appeared to be in danger of future failures. AOAN Jackson stated he had not read the new PFA instruction, but his idea was for an outside entity, such as ATG, to conduct the spot checks in order to avoid the potential for commands to refrain from spot checking their high performing sailors who were not in the best shape. This led to a lively back and forth exchange across the audience about the need for certain technical skill sets that were very sedentary in nature (e.g. Cyber defense/hacking) and the possibilities of having a portion of the workforce subject to a different set of physical requirements as sea-going sailors need a certain functional strength that sailors in potential land-locked ratings will not require.

Fixing CANES
IT2 Mason Lybrand

CANES onboard USS RONALD REAGAN is the bane of most sailors quality of life at sea. As our young sailors are digital natives, their reliance on the NIPRnet for social networking a top priority. Additionally, most UNCLAS technical manuals are not maintained onboard and many sailors rely on schoolhouse reach back and online distance support for technical trouble shooting. All of our travel and logistics websites reside on the NIPRnet as well. The design of CANES is flawed in that one server supports all inbound and outbound traffic, for the entire carrier. As a result the server is easily overloaded. The additional of an additional server rack would alleviate the load and greatly improve network performance.

Admiral Sims Award Winner, GM2 Payge Shelton, gets the crowd excited about her pitch for the Hippocampus Stimulator!

Hippocampus Stimulator
GM2 Payge Shelton

***Admiral Sims Award Winner***

GM2 Paige’s pitch was inspired by her experience dealing with two subsets of sailors; 1) Sailors who are smart, but lack a work ethic and only joined the Navy long enough to get the GI Bill and get out, and 2) Sailors who really care about the Navy and work hard, but struggle to pass promotion tests. Her idea is by year 3 or 4, the hardworking, dedicated sailors, would be successfully weeded from the chaff. They could then voluntarily sign-up for Hippocampus Stimulation treatment – either via electrical shock or injection. GM2 Paige expertly explained the science behind Hippocampus stimulation and how the use of stimulation during the learning phase suggests that sailors would not require continuous stimulation to boost their memory, but only when they are trying to learn important information. She also noted that in the future this technology may lead the way to neuro-prosthetic devices that can be turned on and off during specific stages of information processing or daily tasks. This additional cognitive function will give hard working sailors the ability to achieve higher scores on advancement exams and promote ahead of the less motivated sailors. The excitement for this idea was palpable as many sailors in the room expressed frustration with pockets of sailors whose negativity brought everyone down, but was tolerated by leadership because of the individual sailors knowledge and skill. GM2 received the most votes for her idea was well researched and she explained in detail how this technology could be implemented in the Navy in the not too distant future. Her enthusiasm was contagious and by the end of the presentation we had sailors willing to line-up for Hippocampus stimulation now!

ATHENA Far East 4.0 will be later this fall. In the meantime, check out the C7F Innovation Pitchfest on Friday, August 18th, 1300-1600 in room 216 of the MWR building!

Athena Far East 3.0 Roundup

By CDR Michele Day

On April 21st, a motivated group of FDNF sailors met at the world renowned Submarine Sanctuary to collaborate and make positive change in the Navy. Due to time constraints, we were limited to 3 inspired pitches, so keep your calendars open in August for ATHENA 4.0, as it stands to be a blowout event!

Our emcee gave a quick history of ATHENA and reviewed the pitch rules before pulling the first presenter’s name from the Innovation Lantern. This Lantern has presided over ATHENA events back to San Diego’s Waterfront ATHENA 2.0!

The afternoon was electrified with innovative ideas and the desire to make the Navy better! So, without further ado, here is the roundup of the concepts presented.

LT Jason Highley – Li-Fi, the key to shipboard secure, wireless, computing

**Athena FE 3.0 Admiral Sims Award for Intellectual Courage**

The Navy is in a fight for talent – young sailors joint the Navy expecting the latest and greatest in technology as they are all Digital Natives. They exist in the digital world, and unfortunately the Navy is behind the times when it comes to mobile computing onboard ships – for both work and quality of life. LT Highly immediately capturing our attention by setting up a small metal box next to a Wi-Fi speaker. The room filled with the sounds of music as he demonstrated how a cell phone can connect via Wi-Fi. He then put the speaker in the metal box to demonstrate the OPSEC concerns associated with shipboard Wi-Fi. Our curiosity piqued, he explained the answer to this problem is “Li-Fi”. By transmitting over light, everyone in the box can hear can hear, but not outside the box. Li-Fi is a bidirectional, high-speed and fully networked wireless communication technology similar to Wi-Fi that debuted at the 2011 Consumer Electronic Show. Li-Fi would enable sailors to access complete libraries of technical manuals and drawings from anywhere on the ship, both SIPR and NIPR Li-Fi systems could be securely set-up in the shipboard environment. This innovative application of a technology that is readily accessible is why Jason won the Admiral Sims Award for Intellectual Courage.

LT Greg Hahn – LED Rack Lights with USB charging ports

Navy LT Greg Hahn, an ATHENA Far East veteran, started the event off by invigorating the crowd with his concept to save the Navy money while improving Sailor Quality of Life. His concept is simple, yet has numerous advantages. Greg deftly explained how Light Emitting Diodes work, the amount of energy it takes to operate an LED, and the relative cost of installing and maintaining LED lighting. Retrofitting a standard Navy rack light with an LED strip, 3 way switch controller, and USB charger would have an initial cost upfront, but the time saved in bulb replacement and the associated shipboard storage and HAZMAT disposal costs would quickly be recovered. Greg took his pitch to the next level as he described how our current fluorescent lights flick on and off at a 60 Hz cycle, which actually fatigues the human eye. LED lights on the other hand do not “flicker” and therefore are easier on the human eye. Another advantage of LEDs as a light source is the pump wavelength is such that it does not contain UVA, UVB or UVC wavelengths that are harmful. Lastly, the LED rack lamp upgrade would contribute to the Navy’s work towards Circadian Rhythm watchstanding as it would provide the ability to employ red lights during sleeping hours.

Petty Officer Jacob Brimhall – Peer to Peer Education

Petty Officer Brimhall stirred the crowed by asking the question – How many times have you heard your command say money for getting Sailors to school is waning every year? As all of the heads in the room emphatically nodded up and down, he went on to ask if anyone was familiar with the Principle of Dynamic Discovery and how it can apply to Education. Silence ensued. He described that Dynamic Discovery, or Dynamic Learning is focused on relevant topics and it is active and agile to keep up with the speed of information. The ability to save money on expensive schools, with historically low pass rates, while training more sailors than the school has throughput is a Win-Win! The crowd, unable to contain their curiosity cried out “HOW?” Peer to Peer Education takes the team mentality to information sharing, by training a handful of smart, motivated sailors and having them train the fleet through face-to-face interactions and online forums.

While the Far East team spins up Athena FE 4.0, they’re going ahead and hosting the first ever Athena onboard a deployed Air Craft Carrier on June 14th!

Plans for ATHENA Far East 4.0 coming soon… so stay tuned!

 

 

Athena DC 2.0 Roundup

By AT1 Mike Pecota

Following last year’s inaugural Athena DC 1.0, the second event had much to live up to. In contrast to the previous year’s grand setting inside the Gaylord National Convention Center this year’s event took place in a much more traditional Athena setting: The Irish Whisper Pub right in the heart of National Harbor and it didn’t take long for the audience of Athenians to take over the entire space!

Both years’ events immediately followed the Sea Air Space convention held annually at the Gaylord, taking advantage of the senior Naval leadership the convention brings with it each year.

After winning last year’s event, I had the distinct honor of hosting this year’s event (and being the first Enlisted host of any Athena event). We kicked off with a brief introduction and welcome, we began to foster in a new generation of innovative thinkers!

In keeping up with the high standards set in DC 1.0, this years panel members were hand-chosen for their contribution to innovation leadership in the local area. Unlike any event before it, this year’s presenters and board members alike represented the best of innovation from both the Navy and Marine Corps. Board members included Joshua Smith, the director of TANG at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab; Monica Hutchins, a leader within the Strategy and Innovation office at the Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy (Management); and Captain James Lamontie of the Marine Corps’ Installation and Logistics (I&L) office and the NexLog Innovation Cell.

 The years of experience in grassroots innovation these panelists brought to the table made for some impactful insights into our presenters’ pitches!

And without further ado, let’s get to the ideas!

Sims Winner Jerin Raby, and the host (and his 3D Printed bowtie).

AM2 Jerin Raby – Fleet Readiness Center Mid Atlantic, Detachment Patuxent River

*** Athena DC 2.0 Admiral Sims Award for Intellectual Courage ***

Jerin presented her idea, which comes right from the “why aren’t we already doing this” file, with the clarity and expertise of an experienced Sailor well versed in the difficulties facing all aviation maintenance. Her proposal – to replace the oversized metallic toolboxes, used throughout Naval flight line maintenance, with lighter custom made backpacks – clearly struck the heartstrings of the crowd. As she reflected on her past experiences with the cumbersome toolboxes, you could see the expressions of many in the room as they recanted their own trials and difficulties using the outdated boxes.

The main focus of Jerin’s proposal was to help eliminate back problems and related injuries associated with lugging the tool boxes across flightiness and up and down ships’ ladderways. She explained the safety concerns and dangers the boxes pose to others as one makes their way through dark hallways. A secondary focus of her proposal was the benefits sailors having the use of both hands on the flight line and while traversing ships. Any maintainer could now have the use of both hands to keep them on their feet while traveling around the ship.

HM2 Joshua Cranford – Naval Hospital Annapolis

Joshua returned to the ATHENA DC, making him the only presenter to pitch ideas at both settings. As a reflection of his idea last year to increase mission readiness and cost savings by switching duty vehicles over to hydrogen power, this year he proposed taking the eco friendly hydrogen power and introducing it to the world of submariners. The extreme dedication to his mission, of a Navy powered by hydrogen power, shone as he walked the crowd through the pro’s and cons of having this alternative fuel powering the vessels of tomorrow.

One of the crowd voters, and his soon-to-be-scored presentation grading sheet.

AE3 Jordan Brady – Fleet Readiness Center Mid Atlantic, Detachment Washington

Jordan knew after witnessing ATHENA DC 1.0 first hand, that he was going to bring an idea in 2017. His concept was  to use high powered lasers to aid sailors in the tedious task of corrosion removal. With corrosion being the number one enemy of any metal floating in the middle of the ocean, his idea spoke to both the surface and aviation members of the audience. Many of whom have undoubtedly spent many painstaking hours with needle guns and wire brushes keeping their vessels in the fight whether on the sea or in the air.

SSgt Alex Long – Ammunition Logistics Focus Team

Alex was the first Marine ever to bring an idea to an Athena event! His time working with munitions and weapons lead him to the startling discovery that humans are flawed. One individual manning a armory can hold up the operations of an entire unit. Alex’s solution was to automate the system through the use of robotics and digital accountability. His idea is not new to the logistics, but hasn’t found it’s rightful place in the world of weaponry in the Marine Corps, according to Alex.

AOAN Marissa Cross – Fleet Readiness Center Mid Atlantic, Detachment Patuxent River

Marissa finished the evening with a lifesaving bit of innovation. Her take on shipboard safety assisted any personal facing catastrophic conditions while potentially trapped within a ship. The problem: during true crisis at sea, vision is usually impaired making the glow-in-the-dark stickers (telling one their location in the ship) virtually unusable. Her solution: place 3D printed arrows throughout the ship directing sailors to the nearest point of exit. This allowed anyone who may find themselves visually impaired to tactually find their way to safety regardless of visibility.

In reflection, the authenticity of the evening’s setting combined with the passion of the presenters made for a night of true innovation. The ideas exchanged and connections made instilled an exhilarating air of electricity much needed in todays ever evolving military. The integration of two branches with the common goal of mission readiness will help set the pace for all future endeavors both here in the great United State of America, and abroad to wherever the mission may take us next.

AT1 Mike Pecota is an Aviation Electronics Technician /Assistant Innovation Team Lead for Fleet Readiness Center Mid Atlantic, Detachment Patuxent River. He’s also a driving force on the Additive Manufacturing Team and Innovation Cell at NAVAIR and the Admiral Sims Award winner from Athena DC 1.0.

Athena DC 2.0 Is Coming!

Are you going to Sea Air Space 2017 and looking for a way to connect with deckplate innovators across the Navy and Marine Corps? Are you in the DC area and want to check out what an Athena Project event is all about? Do you have a big idea that you want to pitch to connect with hard-charging folks who can make it happen?

If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then have we got a deal for you!

The Athena Project is hosting it’s second DC Chapter event during the Sea Air Space Expo at the Irish Whisper on Monday, April 3rd at 7PM!

Since early 2013, Athena pitch events have been a great way to connect to the Defense Innovation Network and hear (or pitch) some groundbreaking ideas to make things better! These events have come to be described as Shark Tank meets TED Talks and give grassroots innovators a voice by giving them the stage for five minutes to pitch their big ideas. After five minutes of Q&A from the audience and our esteemed panel, the crowd will vote on ideas based on Idea Quality, Actionability, and Presentation to crown the Admiral Sims Award for Intellectual Courage to the top concept.

Presenters and Panelists from last year’s Athena DC 1.0 at Sea Air Space.

Last year’s winner was a game-changing sonar transducer cover, designed by our Sims Winner and 3D printable, that’s saving money and maintenance hours today. We’ll even get an update on its progress at the event!

The Athena Project has 12 Active Chapters from Yokosuka to Mayport, and many concepts from our events have gone on to prototyping and development. As an example, check out this concept that emerged from the Athena West Chapter that went on to win last year’s Innovation Jam on its way to improve surface ships’ gunnery!

There’s still time to slide into a presentation slot for Monday’s event if you’ve got a big idea that you want to see happen! Just send us a note at athenanavy@gmail.com if you want to present!

If you just want to come hear the pitches and network with like-minded catalysts, that’s cool too! Just swing by the Irish Whisper and join us! Registration always helps (you can do that here) or just come as you are and be part of the movement.

Let’s go fast.

 

Athena DC 1.0 – Right Around The Corner!

We’re less than a week away from Athena DC 1.0 at Sea Air Space, and we’re excited to bring forth some tremendous ideas from around the fleet!

At 7:00 PM on Monday, May 16^th in the Potomac Room C at the Gaylord National Convention Center, we’ll have six Sailors pitching their great ideas to make the Navy better in front of the assembled crowd as well as a panel of four esteemed thought leaders in the innovation space.

The panelists will provide a great perspective to each presenter, bringing forth their wealth of knowledge to give insightful feedback after each presentation. VADM Phil Cullom, OPNAV N4; Dr. Ralph Semmel, Director of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; Dr. Larry Schuette, Director of Research at the Office of Naval Research; and Sharon Beermann-Curtin, Deputy Director of the Strategic Capabilities Office join our team for the night to help propel these projects further.

Our presenters, in alphabetical order, are HM2 Joshua Cranford of the Annapolis Naval Hospital, MA2 Edward Glospie of NSF Lakehurst at Fort Dix, LT James Landreth of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit in Charleston, AT1 Michael Pecota of FRCMA Detachment Patuxent River, LT Takeru Tajiri of LCS Crew 104, and LT Daniel Walker of Naval Supply Systems Command.

The Gaylord National Convention Center – Ground Zero for Athena DC 1.0 on Monday. Come by! It’s FREE!

These six presenters were selected by the Athena National Council from an incredibly impressive group of submissions. For those not selected this time around, fear not: There will be loads of opportunities to get your great ideas on stage in the future.

In addition to our presenters, we’ll have a past Athenian at the event to share his innovation success story with the crowd. While the awesome things that people have done in the realm of Department of Defense innovation often inspire us, our team is especially excited to give the stage to LT Jason Shaw to share his stories with the group. LT Shaw, a participant at Athena East 1.0, will be sharing his story of innovation at his command and a funded project that he’s brought to life.

The scene at Athena West 4.0 in San Diego. We’re excited to add new Athenians into our midst!

For those unfamiliar with The Athena Project, here’s how the event works: presenters will have five minutes to present their idea. After the pitch, the panel will provide brief feedback to the presenter, which will be followed by five minutes of question and answer from the crowd. Once the Q&A is complete, the crowd will vote on the concept, grading the idea on three criteria: Idea quality, Actionability, and Presentation. Once all our Athenians have pitched their concepts, our team will calculate votes in order to determine the winner of the Admiral Sims Award for Intellectual Courage, which earns the lucky presenter the power of the Athena network to turn their idea into reality.

For all the fellow innovators in the region, admission to Sea Air Space, as well as Athena DC 1.0 is free, so we hope to have a great turnout to support the three officers and three enlisted Sailors that have demonstrated the intellectual courage to share their big ideas. Remember: No uniforms necessary – this is a casual event that’s open to all!

Looking forward to a great time on Monday night! See you there!

Athena: A Plankowner’s Perspective

By: CDR Michele Day

“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.”

— Edward de Bono

This month, theATHENAproject is continuing its growth around the globe. On January 15th at the Yokosuka Naval Base Galley, Athena Far East is kicking off their inaugural event. I am especially excited to see the ideas presented at ATHENA Far East – I’ll tell you why in just a bit.

Athena Far East is this Friday!

We all know that innovation is fundamentally the process of inventing, introducing, and adopting a new product, practice, system, or behavior. The ability to innovate is impacted by a myriad of factors, some of which are controllable while others are non-controllable. Some people work in an environment that suppresses change or devalues employees who are young and inexperienced. Some people fear failure, think they are not creative enough, or are afraid of speaking publicly.

I’ve been a part of ATHENA since its inception and what an amazing journey it has been. When provided the opportunity to use their VOICE, Sailors are an unstoppable force. An interesting trend I saw in San Diego: The ideas pitched by Sailors were often tied to their parent command’s life cycle. For instance, Sailors who recently returned from deployment expressed ideas more tactical in nature, while those in the shipyard generally had ideas on improving maintenance, and those in the training cycle were focused on streamlining admin and qualifications.

A little throwback picture: The first ever pitch, when Athena was still unfortuntely named WikiWardroom.

As I read through the Roundups from ATHENA events I see the same spread of idea generation. This is why I am so excited about ATHENA Far East! Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) units are primarily operational. They find time for maintenance and training, but the lifecycle is more fluid than CONUS based forces. FDNF Sailors are always asking “what can we do to be better warfighters?” If you think about it, nearly all of the ideas pitched at ATHENA events can be tied to Warfighting First:

• Streamlining admin allows for more training time.
• Merging databases allows for better tracking of manning and material
• Modernizing training provides warfighters better suited for today’s technological environment

But as I look into my ATHENA Far East crystal ball, I see FDNF Sailors pitching ideas that leverage current technologies to find new ways to execute the mission and conceptualizing new weapons systems.

As ATHENA has continued to grow, we’ve made a constant effort to innovate our own process, trying out new things and gaining feedback to try and make ATHENA better. In our recent events, we’ve experimented with “Shark Tank-style” panels of leaders to provide concept feedback, awarding personal development experiences to our participants and winners, inviting Sailors who have made headway with their projects as keynote speakers and beyond. In that spirit, we’re prototyping a new experience for our first Far East event! Specifically unique to ATHENA Far East is our partnership with the Defense Entrepreneurship Forum (DEF) as an official Agora and our endorsement by and involvement with the Military Writer’s Guild, and SECNAV’s Naval Innovation Advisory Council.

Brett Vaughn, one of the “Sharks” at Athena East 2.0, getting down to business with a presenter as CAPT Carter and CAPT Bodvake look on.

Expanding to Japan is incredibly exciting for not only ATHENA, but the Naval “Innovation Insurgency” as a whole. But beyond that, I think that it’s important to provide a stage for the bright minds currently serving in this Theater to have their voices heard. We hope that you’re as excited about it as we are.

Come see what ATHENA is all about, and join us in making positive change in the Navy! We hope to see you there!

 

CDR Michele Day is the former Commanding Officer of USS BENFOLD. She’s currently assigned to CTF-70 as the Surface Operations Officer. She’s a proud graduate of Texas A&M and on a never ending journey to grow as a servant leader, positive change instigator, and figuring out how to get her Sailors to ‘give a poop.’

There are loads of Athena Events coming up! If you’re in the San Diego, Groton or Patuxent River areas, connect with us if you want to be a part of our upcoming events! Connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenanavy or follow us on Twitter: @AthenaNavy. Interested in starting a movement of your own? Message us, or e-mail athenanavy@gmail.com!

To learn more about Defense Entrepreneurs Agora: http://defenseentrepreneurs.org/about-def-agora/

 

 

Introducing, ATHENA Far East!

By LTJG Tom Baker

USS BENFOLD (DDG 65), the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, and a team of innovation veterans from fleet concentration areas across the United States have teamed up in Japan to establish ATHENA Far East, our first permanent ATHENA hub outside of the continental United States!

Rooting itself at Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY), Japan, the opportunities to collaborate with Japanese and American sailors are tremendous.

The surface and submarine mariner of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces across Yokosuka Bay, an entrepreneurship professor from a local university, the talented civilian maintenance community, an aviation mechanic in Aircraft Carrier RONALD REAGAN…we will reach at every corner of civilian and military entrepreneurship to bring the same diverse conversation under one roof that has made every ATHENA so successful before us!

If you are in Japan, make plans now to join us on January 15th from 1245 – 1430 at the Commodore Matthew Perry General Mess “Tatami Room” on the Yokosuka Navy Base.

Any Military members or DoD Civilians interested in pitching ideas at this event can reach out on facebook or connect with us on the gmail account listed below!

Connect with Athena on Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenanavy or follow us on Twitter: @AthenaNavy. Interested in starting a movement of your own? Message us, or e-mail athenanavy@gmail.com!

 

Athena West 9.0 Is Coming!

By: LCDR Mark Blaszczyk

We are excited to extend an invitation to Athena West 9.0 on Friday, December 4th at the 32 North Brewing Company from 1200-1500!

For this event, we’ve made it easy for you to let us know you’re coming, thanks to Eventbrite. You can RSVP here.

As the first Waterfront event in San Diego since the departure of USS BENFOLD, I am excited to be taking the reins from LTJG Tom Baker and the crew of the BENFOLD and I couldn’t think of a better home than LCSRON ONE for the Athena Project.

As commands go, few spend more time trying to innovate than LCSRON ONE, as we work to develop and establish the revolutionary changes the Littoral Combat Ships represents for the Navy.

But just because LCSRON ONE is focused in the LCS community, it doesn’t mean that Athena West 9.0 won’t be showcasing ideas from across the various communities of the Navy and beyond!

As Athena continues to expand its reach throughout the nation and soon internationally, it is an exciting time here in San Diego as we look to draw on more and more ideas from a more and more diverse community. Athena West 9.0 expects to deliver a diverse group of ideas.

We are always thrilled to connect with anyone who might be inspired by the Project and would like to get involved – message us if you’re interested!

As always, the stage is 100% open to any innovators in the San Diego area, regardless of community or service affiliation, and we still have a couple presenter spots open! So, If you have a big idea that you want to share with our open and accepting network, get a hold of us and come on down to the event to share your idea with kindred spirits!

We’re looking forward to an awesome event, and hope to see the Navy innovation community out in San Diego in two weeks!

 

LCDR Mark Blaszczyk is the Combat Systems Training Lead in Commander Littoral Combats Ship Squadron One and the co-lead for The Athena Project’s San Diego chapter.  He is a graduate of Purdue University with a BS in Civil Engineering and Duke University with a Masters in Business Administration.

Connect with Athena on Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenanavy or follow us on Twitter: @AthenaNavy. Interested in starting a movement of your own? Message us, or e-mail athenanavy@gmail.com!

Get ready, Japan, Mayport and Groton! Athena events are coming your way soon! Want to know more – hit us up!

 

 

 

Athena South East 1.0 Is Tomorrow!

By: LT Kristen Wheeler

Buckle up, Jacksonville! Tomorrow our innovative community joins the Athena Family!

The Athena Project is hosting its first ever South East event at 5:30 on October 29th at CoLabJax on the Jacksonville waterfront. Six innovative Sailors will pitch their ideas to the collected crowd and to a panel of special-guest Sharks from the civilian and military communities at an event free to all in the Jacksonville area!

Teamed up with the game changers at CoLabJax, a maker space, and also The Bunker, an incubator for military entrepreneurs, the Sailors will present their creative concepts to make the Navy better at an event that would inspire a tip of the hat from Nikola Tesla. And Tesla would probably be impressed with the prizes too!

This event has been months in the making. From July until September, Sailors used the Secretary of the Navy’s online idea collaboration space, “The Hatch,” to craft their creative concepts. And, with the assistance from Major Armando Martinez, from SECNAV’s Innovation and Strategy team, USS IWO JIMA conducted an exclusive competition wherein participating Sailors were awarded Special Liberty for accruing the most points and also for the best ideas. Select Sailors were then invited to pitch their idea at Athena South East 1.0.

In preparation for the big event, CoLabJax hosted a practice session yesterday, where the participants learned the art of the elevator pitch from CoLabJax co-founder and entrepreneur expert, Jason Salvagni.

There are still some spots available if you’re in the area and interested in coming to the event to collaborate with other innovators or to watch some of the great ideas, give feedback and vote for Jacksonville’s first Admiral Sims Award winner! You can register here – nice but not mandatory. If you want to just come on by, do it!

Come be a part of The Athena Project’s Jacksonville team at the first ever Athena South East!

Leaning on lessons learned from Athena Project founder, Dave Nobles, and Athena’s Fleet Lead, LCDR Drew Barker, the event on the 29th promises to be interesting and interactive in a unique space where Sailors and civilians can ideate, collaborate, and take a leap together into the future.

LT Kristen Wheeler is the former Combat Systems Officer onboard USS IWO JIMA. She’s currently transitioning between duty stations on her way to become a part of the Naval Innovation Advisory Council in San Francisco, California.

There are loads of Athena Events coming up! If you’re in the San Diego, Groton or Yokosuka areas, connect with us if you want to be a part of our upcoming events! Connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenanavy or follow us on Twitter: @AthenaNavy. Interested in starting a movement of your own? Message us, or e-mail athenanavy@gmail.com!

Athena East 2.0 Roundup

By: Dave Nobles

Weather be damned! Despite the rain spinning off Hurricane Joaquin, a horde of innovators gathered at Work|Release on Friday in Norfolk, Virginia for the second Athena East event.

The crowd of like-minded innovators that braved the elements to come out to Athena East 2.0!

We love to iterate our process, so we had quite a few “firsts” for this event. This time, our event was co-sponsored by the Surface Navy Association, the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC), and the United States Naval Institute. We were also happy to have our friends from the Virginian Pilot there, writing a great story about the event you can read here.

Adding to our firsts, we had a panel of senior “Sharks” to provide some insight on our five presentations and help to find pathways for those concepts to find a way to the Sailors that could benefit from them. While these Sharks didn’t cast votes (as always, that was the responsibility of the 60 innovators who braved the elements to come out) they did provide feedback to each of the presenters to contribute to our “Yes, And” culture.

Our Cyber Shark, CAPT Heritage showing off his custom Captain hoodie.

The Sharks included CAPT Robert Bodvake, Commodore of Destroyer Squadron 22; CAPT John Carter, Commanding Officer of USS BATAAN (LHD 5); CAPT Sean Heritage, Commanding Officer of Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command; CAPT Jeffrey Sheets, Production Officer for the Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center C-900; and Brett Vaughn, Science and Technology Advisor to OPNAV N2/N6. The tremendous insight that these Sharks provided by donning their raincoats (and in some cases, hoodies) to catalyze the creativity at the event was phenomenal and absolutely something that The Athena Project will be leveraging in our future events!

One of our sharks, Brett Vaughn, getting down to business with a presenter as CAPT Carter and CAPT Bodvake look on.

Another addition we’ve made to our process – and one that’s definitely going to stick – is the prizes we gave to our participants, donated from local organizations. While we gave a prize to the winner at Waterfront Athena Eight (or, Athena West 8.0) provided by our friends at MakerPlace in San Diego, this time we gave amazing prizes to all of our presenters.

All our participants received memberships to 757 Makerspace in Norfolk and Improv 101 classes provided by Push Comedy Theater, generously bestowed by our friends Beau Turner and Brad McMurren, respective heads of those fine organizations. At The Athena Project, we believe that unlike a simple monetary incentive, these prizes are tremendous for our Athenians’ personal development, and will go a long way to turbocharge their innovative spirit and give them tools they can bring back to their respective commands to make them better!

With appropriate libations in the hands of our soggy audience, the innovation was set to get underway! Let’s get down to the ideas!

***Athena East 2.0’s Admiral Sims Award For Intellectual Courage***

FC2(SW) Aaron Vickers, USS LABOON – Headset Adaptors

Those who have had the joy of standing watch in the Combat Information Center of a surface ship may note that the headsets for the consoles in the space can leave a little to be desired. Some of the chief complaints of the existing headsets include durability, functionality, comfort and the fact that they are germ sponges, potentially passing illnesses from watchstander to watchstander that eventually spread throughout the small crew of a surface ship.

What FC2 Vickers proposed was an elegantly designed adaptor that would allow Sailors to bring their own gaming headsets (or even iPhone earbuds) to watch, improving all the areas that had previously been Sailor gripes. Fielding questions from the audience on concerns such as preventative maintenance requirements and durability of commercial headsets, Vickers proposed since each individual would invest in their own headset, they would be much more likely to care for the equipment. And, to respond to durability concerns, Vickers referenced the likelihood of online video game players to throw their headsets across the room or through a TV when things didn’t go right. In nearly every instance, the gamer can just put the headset back on and continue playing. By comparison, Vickers said, if a shipboard headset is merely dropped there is a legitimate fear that the device will cease to function altogether.

As the winner of Athena East 2.0, Vickers received a year-long membership to 757 Makerspace where he can continue to iterate his concept, which received high praise from the Sharks and from the crowd.

CWO2 Steve Sturm, Assault Craft Unit FOUR – Vehicle Washdown System

Yet another Athena concept born out of frustration and wasted manhours, Warrant Officer Sturm proposed a fresh water system for amphibious ships to rinse off Marine Corps gear and expeditionary equipment upon return from the beach. In his daily job, Sturm wastes significant time and resources to reconfigure vehicles and scrub biologics off of them to prevent corrosion. He said that a fresh water washing system on the ramp of an amphibous ship that would spray vehicles down upon arrival would save the Navy considerable time and reduce potential safety mishaps, all while saving money for the Navy and Marine Corps by preventing corrosion of equipment. With a video demonstrating the operability of Sturm’s proposed system, the Sharks and the crowd were able to get a full feel of what his innovation would bring to the table (or the well deck, as it were).

Pictures and video demonstrate the concept from CWO2 Sturm’s pitch.

FC1(SW) Robert Williams, USS LABOON – Future Leadership Enhancement Training (FLEET)

The inspiration behind Williams’ idea was the leadership training program for Chief Petty Officer Selects, and those striving to become Chief Petty Officers within the Navy called CPO 365. He noted that there was a gap in coverage for a program like this: Second Class Petty Officers, striving to become Leading Petty Officers at their respective commands did not have an open forum/panel-led discussion of important topics to prepare them for their next leadership position. Williams proposed constructing a program that would inspire discussion rather than “killing” attendees via Powerpoint and allowing Petty Officers to present peer-voted topics of importance. The idea inspired a generative discussion from the crowd, with Sharks requesting specifics (and eventually being introduced as the presenter’s Commodore), and a discussion about measuring the effectiveness of the program. Williams will continue to iterate his concept with the help of those in attendance, but his inspiring idea has identified a space in which a positive impact can be made for the future leaders of the Fleet. Obviously, a subject that’s at the very core of what we do at The Athena Project!

LT Pete Barkley, United States Naval Academy – Schedule Automation

LT Barkley pitched an concept that he developed over the last two summers to automatically write flight schedules for flight training squadrons like those down in Pensacola. Through testing and iteration, Barkley has used the program to execute over 7,500 flight events to cut down scheduling work time by 75% and producing a better scheduling product than 12 Junior Officers would spend a day working on. And it does the calculations in about a minute at the press of a button.

Barkley did a live demonstration of his concept, which takes into account several metrics when generating the schedules. The crowd responded incredibly positively to the concept, and offered that the idea could be further developed to work within the Surface Community with the addition of more metrics and data, required to effectively build a watchbill on a Surface Ship. The Sharks liked it too, so much to make connections within the Office of Naval Research to continue development of the idea.

LT Todd Coursey, Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center – Innovation Through Action

Coursey’s vision is to put portable lathes, sintering machines and various other “making” tools closer to the Fleet to enable real-time creativity. He proposed that his goal of democratizing innovation could be realized by providing tools for Sailors with big ideas to make them happen, complete with policy recommendations. Coursey engaged with the Sharks, proposing that innovation must be something that we really do, specifically referencing the ability for Sailors to produce circuit cards on demand for repairs onboard ships.

Connecting with the Sharks.

With all the ideas having been presented, we were fortunate to welcome two success stories of Fleet innovation while the votes were being tallied. AT1 Richard Walsh, a member of the CNO’s Rapid Innovation Cell, discussed the seven-year journey to bring his tool, SMART, to life. The tool helps to improve preventative and corrective maintenance by calculating probabilities to assist with replacement part ordering and real-time work scheduling. Following him, LT Jason Shaw discussed his path to patenting systems that he has developed to increase tool accountability during repairs.

LT Matt Hipple emceeing his heart out.

The power behind any Athena event is the network, and that was demonstrated in spades during Athena East 2.0. In many respects, The Athena Project is a Bat Signal: A way to “light up the sky” (that may or may not be filled with raindrops) to connect innovators and creatives within the DoD to work together toward making positive change for the future of our armed forces.

As we shine our signal into the air for our next events, whether it’s in Jacksonville, Yokosuka, San Diego, Hawaii, or Groton, we hope that we can band together to be the Innovation Initiative that the DoD deserves, and the one that it wants!

Dave Nobles is a member of the Design Thinking Corps at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the founder of The Athena Project. He is also a Navy Reservist with the Office of Naval Research.

Stay tuned for the upcoming Athena Far East 1.0 and Athena Southeast 1.0! If you’re in the Jacksonville or Yokosuka areas and you have an idea you want to present, Message us!

Connect with The Athena Project on Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenanavy or follow us on Twitter: @AthenaNavy. Interested in starting a movement of your own? Message us, or e-mail athenanavy@gmail.com!