Incentivizing Innovation: Promoting Technical Competency to Win Future Wars

Despite numerous studies and initiatives, most current Air Force efforts to add science and technology talent have been insufficient. This begs the question: How does the Air Force incentivize and promote the necessary technical competence required to win future competition, conflicts, and wars? Several key initiatives, grounded in behavioral economics, can incentivize innovation and pursue science and technology expertise. Developed in the context of peer adversaries' actions; global trends in technology, competition, and conflict; and the global competition for science and technology talent, these recommendations have the potential to reform institutional culture and unleash the creativity and talent of the officer corps, thereby strengthening the US military's technical competency to fight and win future wars. 'Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow. ' --C. William Pollard, The Soul of the Firm (1996)
The Air Force embodies this ethos of learning coupled with innovation through its commitment to real-world training and continuing and professional military education. For science and technology (S&T) competency, however, [...]