US Special Operations Command currently uses the ATAK mobile application for missions such as blue-force tracking. (US Army photo by Spc. Joshua Cofield)
WASHINGTON — Select members of industry gathered on Friday in a scenic conference venue overlooking the Potomac River and the Washington skyline to pitch capabilities in a Shark Tank-type exercise to solve some of the toughest problems for the special operations world.
The first-ever Accelerator Event, sponsored by the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC), billed itself as “a different kind of industry day,” according to SO/LIC Assistant Secretary Derrick Anderson.
“It’s the direct manifestation of acquisition reform and our priority of pioneering for SOF and serving as a pathfinder for the department,” Anderson said in opening remarks to attendees. “Advances in technology reinforce the simple, hard truth: The time for action is now. We cannot afford to wait. We cannot afford to let legacy bureaucratic acquisition process dictate our readiness.”
Officials explained that, like with accelerators elsewhere in the Pentagon, the goal is to break down the bureaucratic barriers that are often derided in the acquisition world, seeking to prove that the acquisition system doesn’t have to take 10-plus years to deliver what SOF operators need today.
