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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Maintenance equipment sits in an aircraft hangar.The first generation of the Digital Aircraft Link Emulator sits covered in dust in a hangar on Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., Aug. 25, 2022. Master Sgt. Bridget Carroll created this generation of DALE for use with the MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft in 2015. Carroll went on to design and improve two more generations of DALE currently used with the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Candin Muniz)
                
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Airman accelerates change through persistence, develops tool for RPAsPublished Sept. 7, 2022
                    
                    By Tech. Sgt. Kaylee Clark
                    
                    
                    27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
            **CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) --**An Air Force Technical Sergeant operates a piece of maintenance equipment.Staff Sgt. Chase Ward, 727th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics craftsman, operates the third generation of the digital aircraft link emulator in front of an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, and two older generations of DALE on Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., Aug. 25, 2022. Master Sgt. Bridget Carroll created DALE seven years ago to reduce the size of RPA maintenance packages loaded onto cargo aircraft when deploying. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Candin Muniz)
            
            
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**MQ-1 Predator** alert package with the goal to decrease the need for two **C-17 Globemaster III**s to only one. Then Tech. Sgt. Bridget Carroll had an idea to help achieve this goal with the creation of a “bird-in-a-box” later known as the Digital Aircraft Link Emulator, or DALE.
Though Carroll created the solution, she was not met with instant success. Her journey took seven years.
Spring 2015 – Need was discovered.
July 2015 – First MQ-1 DALE prototype created.
September 2015 – Airman Powered by Innovation submitted.
Spring 2016 – Space Dynamics Lab at the University of Utah created two DALE **MQ-9 Reaper** prototypes.
August 2018 – **Air Force Special Operations Command** 2019 Spark Tank competition submitted.
October 2018 – API disapproval
October 2018 – Notified that MQ-9 DALE had won AFSOC Spark Tank Top 5.
February 2019 – DALE presented at Air Force Association Spark Tank.
Present – DALE Jr. developed and employed.
“If we could mobilize our capability without an actual aircraft then we could get down range and get operational faster,” Carroll said. “I had the idea to put the minimum amount of aircraft parts in a box to still do line-of-sight checks with our control stations after we set up a field site.”
During her planning phase of DALE, the Air Force was retiring the MQ-1, which resulted in a lower risk if the aircraft parts were damaged during the project's initial stages.

An Air Force Master Sergeant poses for a photo in front of a remotely piloted aircraft.Master Sgt. Bridget Carroll, 727th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron MQ-9 Ground Control Station section chief, stands in front of an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft and three generations of the digital aircraft link emulator she designed on Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., Aug. 25, 2022. Carroll created DALE seven years ago to reduce the size of RPA maintenance packages loaded onto cargo aircraft when deploying. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Candin Muniz)
            
            
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Before the existence of DALE, this process would require more than 10 Airmen to accompany the package, set it up and tow the remotely piloted aircraft around the airfield to ensure link connections were made.
Today, the DALE can be unloaded and ready for use with two Airmen in less than an hour. It is used to establish line of sight connections on a remote airfield and can be unloaded, set up and prepared for link checks in a more efficient manner.
Carroll’s idea and her creation of DALE serve as an inspiration for all Airmen to lean into innovation to accelerate change.
“Spark Tank is a chance to celebrate our Air Force risk-takers, idea makers and entrepreneurs who refuse to accept the status quo and have determined their own fate by developing solutions that make it easier for us to bring our very best to the fight,” said **Lauren Knausenberger**, Spark Tank director.
Innovation competitions like Spark Tank create an avenue for Airmen to think outside of the box and in Carroll’s case, put her idea in a box.
“Don't give up,” she said. “There's always people and other avenues out there that will help you.”
Staff Sgt. Chase Ward, 727th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics craftsman, began working alongside Carroll and the DALE jr. prototype last year and has witnessed the impact of her innovation. He said that the final version of DALE is in the process of being manufactured and sent out Air Force wide.
“I appreciate being able to watch this process go full circle,” Ward said. “It is awesome to know that our ideas do matter.”
Carroll’s journey and level of success is a testimony to hard work, dedication and the impact of empowering Airmen with a culture of innovation. She did not allow a hurdle such as not winning a competition prevent her from accomplishing her goals.FS 



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