My writeup for The Monitor newsletter about a recent field trip

 

Members tour Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB

A rare look inside some of the units of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was offered to 20 FBICCAAA members on October 17 during a 3-hour tour.

“We’re experts in science and technology,” said Col. Anthony DeGegoria, deputy director of AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, as he welcomed members on the tour. 

He explained that his area develops materials, processes, and advanced manufacturing technologies for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, rockets, and ground-based systems and their structural, electronic, and optical components.

“Everybody has materials and manufacturing needs,” he said. “It’s a very exciting time with so many advancements and opportunities on the horizon.” One of the emerging technology areas that he talked about was “counter directed energy,” explaining that lasers and high-power electromagnetic threats can blind personnel and damage equipment. AFRL is a world leader in protecting people and equipment from directed energy weapons. 

“It’s one of the emerging technology areas that I’m really proud of,” he said. “It’s like a game of chess, and we’re thinking a few moves ahead.”

FBICCAAA members were also briefed on a project called the Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit, or BATDOK, a point-of-injury software tool. The kit enables medics to wirelessly monitor the vitals of multiple patients simultaneously at the point-of-injury, to record a complete history of each patient’s medical treatment from point-ofinjury through medical evacuation, and follow-on transfer to the next level of care. 

“What we’re looking for is a better way to document patient care in the battlefield,” said Capt. Stephen Cunningham, who has been lead engineer on the project for a year and a half. “We’re supporting the entire continuum of care in the prehospital environment.” 

He explained that it only takes about an hour for someone to be trained to use the equipment, and he passed around mockups of the devices, noting that the project has been in the works for about 5 years. 

The tour also included a look at developments in pre-packaged blood products in the Rapid Prototyping Cell Facility and efforts to optimize the performance of metals by the Metals Probabilistic Performance Prediction Research Team. 

AFRL employs more than 11,000 active-duty military, civilians, and contractors in nine states and five other countries. It traces its roots back to World War I and claims innovative breakthroughs used in all modern military aircraft including the B-2 and F-35.