IT STARTED WITH A WRENCH
the terms tend to be used interchangeably) was an ideal method of making Soldiers’ jobs easier; 3D-printed wrenches would be simple, fast and cheap to manufacture right where they were needed. He also realized that he needed a design partner, as he lacked the technical knowledge to design and print the wrench he had in mind. Shaughnessy reached out to Dr. Kevin Galloway, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of making at Vanderbilt University, to see if he was interested in collaborating.
Located just a short hour’s drive away from the 3rd BCT’s home base at Fort Camp- bell, Kentucky, Galloway’s lab had both the equipment and ability to help. Gallo- way oversees the Wond’ry Makerspace, a lab outfitted with fabrication and manu- facturing equipment for rapid prototyping. Galloway and Shaughnessy designed and produced a few wrenches, and the inno- vation partnership was underway.
Tis relationship existed in large part because of the culture of innovation
within 3rd BCT. Col. John Cogbill, commander of 3rd BCT, has written at length about building a culture of innovation. With innovation as one of his command priorities, he has worked to enable Soldiers to become problem- solvers, free to identify opportunities for change and test their ideas in tacti- cal settings. Even before 3rd BCT began working with Vanderbilt, the brigade hosted a number of innovation forums, including “Shark Tank”-style open-mic nights where Soldiers brought ideas to a panel of leaders from within the orga- nization. Including Vanderbilt in the innovation process has led to a robust relationship with 3rd BCT, which now includes regular visits between Fort Campbell and the Vanderbilt campus as well as substantial growth in the number of collaborative projects.
WHY IT’S DIFFERENT Tough the initial scope of the collab- oration was small, Soldiers in the 3rd BCT quickly realized that they had a winning formula on their hands. Tis led
to a question of scaling: How could ideas generated through discussion be proto- typed, tested and fielded to the Army as a whole? An additional partner was needed, one with the ability to formalize the rela- tionship, and with the resources to take projects from ideas to products. Tis part- ner came in the form of the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC). On April 9, AFC and Vanderbilt signed an education partnership agreement that allows 3rd BCT and Vanderbilt to freely share ideas and opportunities. Education partnership agreements had been signed in the past, but this was the first time a brigade was specifically included as an official partner to such a pact.
The 3rd BCT-Vanderbilt model can serve as a template for similar relation- ships among each division in the Army and nearby universities and research institutions. On June 4, representatives from each of the parties in the agree- ment briefed Gen. John M. Murray, AFC commander. Te purposes of the briefing were to demonstrate the effectiveness of
THE WOND’RY
Command Sgt. Maj. Alvaro Pertuz, senior enlisted adviser for 3rd BCT, looks at a prototype for a potential replacement for outdated entrenching tools during a tour of the Vanderbilt University Wond’ry facility in June. The 3rd BCT and Vanderbilt have turned the conventional innovation process on its head, collaborating to solve problems from the bottom up and forging strong ties between Soldiers and experts. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Cody Harding, 3rd BCT Public Affairs)
84
Army AL&T Magazine
Fall 2019
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156
