An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Oct. 22, 2018

136th AW kicks off inaugural Spark Tank competition

By Airman Bryan Swink 136th Airlift Wing

NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas – Status quo is not the way of the Air Force any longer.

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson kicked off the Air Force’s Spark Tank competition in September 2017 with a goal to “unleash the innovative capacity of our Airmen.” Through the Spark Tank program, Airmen compete and pitch their ideas much like an entrepreneur would make a pitch to a venture capital firm.

Four ideas were submitted and three were presented to a panel of 136th Airlift Wing innovation team members to compete in the 2019 Spark Tank competition during the wing’s October drill.

Capt. Jeremy McCray, 136th Medical Group Medical Service Corps officer, presented the winning idea. He introduced a service allowing medical group members to send and receive secure, digital faxes for their patients from outside medical providers.

“We are currently working with an archaic paper fax machine which can be extremely unreliable,” said McCray. “Implementing this product at the (Medical Group) would allow us to be much more productive while still ensuring proper security for our member’s personal information. Instead of a fax being received that goes unnoticed at the machine, we would get notified via email of an incoming fax at which point we could log into a secure site and retrieve the document.”

“Our unit is made up of bold and creative intrapreneurs, disruptive thinkers within our wing, who are looking for an opportunity to solve problems and contribute at the grass root level,” said Capt. Jennifer Marrs, 136th AW’s innovation chief. “Spark Tank is an opportunity to allow our Airmen to present their ideas, in a formal way, to the Innovation Team. Winning teams become champions of their idea and provided with resources to help them along the way. We have the talent and potential within our wing to impact change, not only within Texas, but also across the entire Air Force.”

Other ideas presented to the panel included the use of varidesk, which allows Airmen to adjust their desk height to stand or sit while working; and a system which would allow two Air Force training programs to effectively communicate with each other to maintain proper training records.

The three finalists received monetary awards donated by the Enlisted Advisory Council and the top three, both enlisted organizations within the wing.

The Air Force has recognized that venture-backed startups are innovating at 10 times the speed of other organizations, and, by employing this model, we hope to encourage intrapreneurship, retain innovators, and speed adoption of emerging technologies, especially those developed by Airmen, to bring game changing impact to our Force, according to the AFWERX website. AFWERX is a product of the U.S. Air Force designed to solve some of the toughest challenges the Air Force faces through innovation and collaboration amongst the nation’s top subject matter experts.

"We challenge all Airmen to share their best ideas that build upon senior leader priorities to restore readiness, increase the lethality of the force and drive innovation to secure our future,” said Wilson.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Soloff, an infantryman with Charlie Company, 1st Brigade, 178th Infantry Regiment, Illinois Army National Guard, observes Polish Territorial Defence soldiers as they prepare range cards necessary for Javelin deployment during Javelin anti-armor ambush training at the TDF Training Center in Toruń, Poland, June 11, 2025. The Illinois National Guard and Poland are partners in the Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program, which pairs Guard elements with partner nations worldwide for mutual training and subject matter expert exchanges. Servicemembers with the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team spent two weeks alongside their Polish counterparts training on sniper operations, the Javelin anti-tank weapon system, combat medical care, and remote observer techniques.
State Partnership Program Enables Global, Shared ‘Peace through Strength’
By Maj. Jon LaDue, | June 27, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.  – For more than 30 years, the National Guard has helped bolster the capabilities of foreign militaries, effectively broadening the pool of partners who are willing and able to support defense and security...

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Gary Keefe, the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard (MANG), observes the progress of the ongoing M1117 Armored Support Vehicle refurbishment initiative at the Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi, Kenya, May 30, 2025. This collaborative initiative between MANG and the Kenya Defence Forces underscores a decade of collaboration through the State Partnership Program.
Massachusetts National Guard, Kenya Strengthen Partnership
By Senior Airman Julia Ahaesy, | June 27, 2025
NAIROBI, Kenya - In 2025, the Massachusetts National Guard and the Kenya Defence Forces commemorate a decade of collaboration through the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program.  Since its...

(From left) U.S. Army Col. Brian Martinus, Michigan National Guard State Chaplain; AFL Maj. Urias Zogaa, Chaplain General, Armed Forces of Liberia; U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, Adjutant General, Michigan National Guard; AFL Maj. Gen. Davidson Forleh, Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of Liberia, U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William Russell, III, Senior Enlisted Advisor, Michigan National Guard; U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Ravindra Wagh, Assistant Adjutant General, Michigan National Guard; CW5 Allen Robinson, State Command Warrant Officer, Michigan National Guard; AFL Lt. Col. Francis Gbodi, Military Advisor; Armed Forces of Liberia; U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Hopkins, Senior Enlisted Advisor, Michigan Army National Guard, stand for a photo in front of a white pine – Michigan’s state tree – dedicated near the Camp Grayling chapel to symbolize the strength of the Michigan-Liberia partnership
Michigan Guard, Liberia Mark 15 Years of Partnership
By Capt. Andrew Layton, | June 27, 2025
CAMP GRAYLING, Mich.—The Michigan National Guard and the Armed Forces of Liberia celebrated the 15th anniversary of their partnership in the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program with a...