Cyber Innovation Center, LA Tech program cited by Global Strike commander as major contributor to Airmen development
By Sean Green | STRIKEWERX Marketing and Communications Director
BOSSIER CITY, La. – In remarks to Congress, the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command cited the command’s partnership with Louisiana Tech University and a Cyber Innovation Center-led program as a major source of development for the command’s Airmen.
Gen. Thomas Bussiere provided remarks to the U.S. House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces during a hearing in Washington D.C., March 28. The hearing was to receive testimony on President Joe Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget request for nuclear weapon and warhead modernization and sustainment. The hearing also outlined the administration’s nuclear policy and program priorities.
Bussiere’s written statement highlighted the Global Strike National Security Fellowship Program as a way academic alliances are continuing to develop the command’s Airmen.
“AFGSC established a collaboration with Louisiana Tech University through the Global Strike National Security Fellowship Program, utilizing a small team of interns trained in coding, automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop tailored analytic tools for bomber operations,” Bussiere remarked.
Now in its third year, the fellowship program brings together university junior, senior and graduate students with AFGSC project champions to foster collaboration and innovation while also incorporating additional academic processes to the Department of Defense.
The fellowship program, administered by the Cyber Innovation Center through its partnership intermediary agreement with AFGSC and managed by the Louisiana Tech Applied Research Corporation, recently yielded a savings of $10 million for the Air Force.
“The fellowship program sees our area’s best and brightest collaborating with the Air Force to achieve meaningful outcomes for our national security,” said Kevin Nolten, CIC vice president. “It allows for the world of academia to collide with DoD for an idea exchange, bettering both entitles in the process.”
CIC collaborated with Sandia National Laboratories and the command’s Operations and Communications Directorate to incorporate and support training for the Dante software in advanced force protection analysis.
Jonathan McBride, a Louisiana Tech University graduate student and a fellow in the program, served as the lead for Dante modeling and simulation of nuclear security physical features, manpower and systems supporting construction of the Weapon Generation Facility. His performance-oriented inputs directly drove efficiency that resulted in the savings.
“Jonathan is a great example of how the fellows program is impacting the command’s mission,” said Dr. Les Guice, president of Louisiana Tech. “Louisiana Tech is committed to growing its portfolio of partnerships with the Air Force to achieve meaningful research, education, training, and collaboration outcomes.”
The CIC’s continued partnership with the AFGSC Office of the Chief Scientist at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, has produced a total impact of more than $250 million. The partnership sees CIC connect business, industry, higher education, and military stakeholders to bridge the command’s most critical technology gaps.