Holloman leadership select “Shark Tank” winners

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christine Groening
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Airmen from units across base came together to pitch their innovative ideas to base leadership, ranging from squadron commanders all the way up to the 49th Wing commander.

Presentations were given in a “Shark Tank” format, where 14 teams were given the opportunity to solicit their innovations through a 15-minute presentation block.

“There are some groundbreaking things here that will serve our mission well, potentially increase our production quality and quantity, and make more time available for our people,” said Col. Joseph Campo, 49th Wing commander

Below are the nine 2019 Shark Tank innovation winners.

Zono Sanitizer
Ozone-based cabinet sanitizer that disinfects toys and supplies at the child development center. This will increase work availability by destroying the bacteria and viruses that led to the loss of more 52,000 work hours in 2018 due to sickness.

Force Support Squadron Kiosk
Digital sign-in system that smooths customer flow by allowing active duty, civilian and retired personnel to make in-person and online appointments. Real-time updates of wait times help smooth customer flows and increase accessibility to 49th Force Support Squadron services.

Civil Engineer Tablets
Network-enabled tablets for real-time, on-site documentation for civil engineering inspectors and site managers. Reduces time-consuming transcription needs by 75-percent while increasing accuracy and interoperability. Holloman will be the fifth base in the Air Force and the first in Air Education Training Command to employ the technology.

Maintenance Group Zamboni
Purchase of 10 water-based Zamboni’s for the 49th Maintenance Group. Increases slip resistance and cleanliness of wing’s 600,000 square feet of hangar floor surfaces while reducing water usage and manpower requirements 75-percent and 80-percent respectively.

Security Forces Squadron Thermal imagers
Hand-held thermal imagers that increase night surveillance capability of security forces. The system will be deployed with mobile teams to aid in the patrol of nearly 60,000 acres of base property.

Electronic Flight Pubs
F-16 pilots will be outfitted with two tablets loaded with all the flight information publications for the regional flying area. The electronic flight pubs are automatically updated via Wi-Fi, allow quicker access to approach charts and smart cards and eliminate the need to maintain expensive and labor intensive paper FLIP libraries.

F-16 Virtual Reality
An initial F-16 squadron will receive 8,000 360-degree cameras, virtual reality cockpit trainers, and VR-equipped briefing rooms. The 54th Training Squadron will record and distribute 8,000 videos and 3D flight models for the transition of basic fighter maneuver and air combat maneuver phases with the goal of reducing the more than $6 million a year in refly costs for student non-progression sorties. If, when the technology is proven, a second round of funds will be required to equip the remaining squadrons.

Medical Group Trailer
The 49th Medical Group will receive a fully enclosed trailer compromised of personal and area air sampling equipment, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response materials and generators. It will be used in support of on- and off-base taskings in support of disaster response and health risk assessments.

MQ-9 iPADs and Interactive Multimedia Instruction
The tablets will be loaded with courseware, syllabi, checklists, tactics manuals and a video library of simulator and live-fly maneuvers and emergency procedures. The continuous updates via a Wi-Fi base station ensures uniformity of content. Additionally, the tablets are equipped for future growth capability and 49th MXG applications as augmented reality courseware is developed.