HARTFORD, Conn. – Three teams of Connecticut National Guard service members presented ideas on how to improve their organization to a panel of judges Jan. 10 during the 2026 Innovation Challenge at the Officer’s Club of the Governor William A. O’Neill State Armory.
“We want to highlight the ingenuity and innovative ideas of Army and Air [service members],” said Maj. Matthew Archuletta, the master of ceremonies for the event.
This year’s winning idea, “Driving Safety Forward,” was presented by Connecticut Army National Guard Maj. Joel Fulsang, who was inspired to use magnetic, rechargeable back-up cameras to increase visibility in military vehicles after witnessing professional and personal accidents involving a backing maneuver. The magnetic feature allows the cameras to be added and removed from vehicles as needed for a movement.
“We ask Soldiers to operate multi-ton machines with massive blindspots,” Fulsang said.
Nearly 1 in 4 accidents involve a backing maneuver, according to data from the National Safety Council.
“It’s about retrofitting the fleet to match new vehicles rolling out,” said Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Jarold McDonald, Connecticut National Guard assistant adjutant general - Air, who served as a judge on the panel for this year’s challenge.
The Connecticut National Guard hosted its first Innovation Challenge in January 2024. The challenge has benefited the Connecticut National Guard since its first iteration that year, when 103rd Airlift Wing Senior Master Sgt. Dana Babcock took top honors for creating a Power BI Dashboard that helped simplify administrative workflow by creating a safe and secure flow of personal identifiable information, or PII, between systems. The challenge benefited the Connecticut National Guard by creating a tasking support mechanism to facilitate the flow of personally identifiable information.
“This is a win,” said Maj. Gen. Francis Evon, the Connecticut adjutant general. “This program develops that culture of innovation and continuous improvement.”
The challenge gives Soldiers outside senior leadership a voice in shaping the organization for the better.
The innovation challenge saw several service members come forward with ideas to better the Connecticut National Guard. Some ideas that were runners-up include using grip-strength meters to increase engagement at recruitment tables and automating daily strength reports.
Additionally, while not the winner of the challenge, Sgt. 1st Class Edward Bonnetti’s innovative idea to revitalize recruiting engagement also will be implemented throughout the 6th Recruiting and Retention Battalion. Bonetti proposed using grip strength meters to encourage conversations with potential applicants vying to join "Connecticut's Home Team." He came up with the idea at a local community gym when he approached a crowded table raising money to help low-income children participate in local sports teams. He participated in the table’s challenge to find the highest grip strength and won. This inspired him to bring this idea to the military to rejuvenate how he interacts with high school students.
“Everyone wants to know that,” Bonnetti said about teenagers testing their strength.
However, he added, it can be used across age groups.
The Connecticut National Guard looks forward to continuing this tradition of innovation and encourages Soldiers and Airmen of all ranks to consider how they want the organization to change and to present those ideas at next year’s challenge.