# News

## U.S. Air Force LogoUnited States Air Force

# Dyess AFB to host virtual collider event

              - Published  April 24, 2020
              -                             By 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs                                                    

**DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) --  **
**Air Force Global Strike Command** Airmen will get the opportunity to create positive change for themselves and their fellow Airmen this month.**Dyess Air Force Base **is scheduled to host a virtual collider event April 28. The event, which was moved to an online venue in the wake of the **COVID-19** pandemic, will now provide increased engagement opportunities for Airmen throughout the command.A collider acts as a catalyst for the Air Force’s toughest problems to “collide” with **Small Business Innovation Research** Phase I companies and Airmen who have potential solutions.The event is organized by **AFWERX**, the Air Force's community of innovators who encourage and facilitate connections across industry, academia and military to create transformative opportunities, solve problems and foster a culture of innovation.Activities during the April 28 event include:Airmen Problem Statements: 10 – 11 a.m. CSTOpen Q&A Sessions with Airmen: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST1-on-1 Customer Discovery Sessions: 12:30 – 2 p.m. CST

The 12 problem sets the collider will be focusing on are as follows:**Aircrew Standards and Evaluations Office Administrative Duties** - The Aircrew Standards and Evaluations Office acts as the quality assurance office for all Air Force flying. Each office requires approximately 10 people to keep up with routine administrative tasks, which means senior instructors have less time available to focus on teaching.**Aircraft Training Solution** - Airmen are required to have in-depth understanding of the layout and data for specific aircraft. The training materials for these aircraft are textually based, with no easy to access graphical data. The lack of visual resources makes studying difficult and time consuming.**Manned Security Checkpoints** - Every security checkpoint currently requires manned staff to allow people on base. This setup causes congestion at entry gates, and limits base accessibility for Airmen by closing certain gates after hours.**Aircraft Drone Defense** - Airports and Air Force bases must consider the potential for attacks from drones.**Security Forces Patrol** - Security forces are required to manually patrol entire bases, costing many man hours, and exposing the staff to possible threats.**Exposure Risk When Shopping** - Air Force personnel are forced to do in-person shopping for essential supplies, possibly exposing them to potential viral risks.**Aircrew Flight Training Scenarios** - Flight crews use an intranet network to conduct in-flight training scenarios. This capability requires a dedicated staff on the ground in order to run the scenarios.**On-boarding Procedures** - When new Airmen arrive on base they are required to complete on-boarding procedures and gather signatures from the relevant staff. Not enough instruction is given on how to navigate facilities or personnel, and as a result this process can take days or weeks to complete.**Air Park Revitalization** - Retired airplanes are moved and stored in air parks on base, to serve as historical and recreational spaces. Over time, interest and engagement with their parks has waned as the surrounding community doesn't have access or incentive to visit.**Design Methodology for Aircraft Loader** - The loading equipment used to load weaponry onto an aircraft is 70 years old. As a result, it is slow and requires frequent maintenance. It has been difficult to organize consensus on the needs of the product, the scope of the project and develop a methodology for designing a new piece of equipment.**Air Force SBIR Project Leads** - All Air Force SBIR contracts require a dedicated project lead to select a solution provider, coordinate with relevant personnel and oversee the implementation of a solution. Airmen who are acting as project leads can be reassigned or deployed during the contract, which is detrimental to the project’s success.**Updated Education Design** - Official classroom settings and curriculum are designed using outdated educational methodology that doesn't meet the needs of Generation Z users.Dyess AFB Airmen, as well as those across AFGSC, are welcome and encouraged to participate. Interested parties can sign up to attend this virtual collider event for free using the following link: **https://dyessvirtualcollider.eventbrite.com**.For any questions regarding the event, please contact learning@afwerx.af.mil.

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