AFSPC Vice Commander: Innovation desperately needed for tomorrow's challenges: The kind of dramatic innovation that brought the world the Global Positioning System is desperately needed today in military space and cyberspace, according to Air Force Space Command's Vice Commander.
"Innovation is really what defines us as a Service," said Lt. Gen. John Hyten at the annual National Security Innovation Competition held here Apr. 25. "Our Service has been built on Airmen doing amazing things, fueled by innovation."
Innovation is a central theme in the new Air Force Vision. "Our Airmen's ability to rethink the battle while incorporating new technologies will improve the varied ways our Air Force accomplishes its missions," wrote Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff General Mark Walsh III, in the document released in January, 2013.
General Hyten challenged the competitors to fight for their innovations, even in the face of opposition from bureaucracies and naysayers. "We have a desperate need for innovation in both space and cyber," he said. "We have declining budgets. We have a completely different threat environment," in both cyber and space. "We need to figure out how to fight through contested environments," he said. "We have to come up with new ideas. If we don't, we fail as a nation."
