HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — Six 419th Fighter Wing personnel emerged from a “Snake Tank” event here Saturday with a total of $52,726 to put toward improving or streamlining their mission areas and squadrons.
Like the popular TV show “Shark Tank,” participants pitched their ideas to a team of senior leaders, including the wing commander, during the wing’s monthly unit training assembly this weekend.
“These pitches were to secure Squadron Innovation Funds and other wing funds that increase readiness and lethality, reduce requirements and costs, and return time back to Airmen so they could concentrate on the mission,” said Col. Gina Sabric, 419th FW commander.
The winning ideas included a high-tech deployment readiness smartboard, mobility bags for deployers, additional low-cost transportation options for maintainers on the flightline, advanced digital fitness testing equipment, and additional psychological health resources for Airmen across the wing.
“The 419th Fighter Wing’s vision is to ‘empower innovative Airmen to fly, fight and win,’ so we wanted to put that to the test by creating an event where personnel at any level could pitch their ideas directly to the wing commander,” said Sterling Broadhead, the wing’s process improvement manager.
The following personnel pitched winning ideas:
- Capt. Brandon Goodwin, Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- Chief Master Sgt. Jeff Hartman, Maintenance Group
- Master Sgt. Jason Nillson, Maintenance Squadron
- Master Sgt. Toni Paine, Force Support Squadron
- Tech. Sgt. Dakota Lujan, Operations Support Flight
- LeeAnn Gossett, Psychological Health
“Given most of our personnel are part-time reservists, we’re al-ways looking for ways to streamline and improve processes,” Broadhead said. “There are undoubtedly more ideas to uncover, so we’re planning to host additional events in the future and we hope that even more of our personnel will participate.”
