The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense or the United States government.
The ATHENA Far East inaugural event is Friday, January 15th in the Commodore Matthew Perry General Mess "Tatami Room", from 1245-1430.
The ATHENA project was created onboard USS BENFOLD in 2012 — led by Dave Nobles and a group of Sailors who wanted to make BENFOLD and the Navy better by developing solutions to problems that Sailors see in the Navy — anything from developing new systems or retooling old systems, to new training plans, to fixing "broken" programs. By harnessing deckplate innovations and creating a cadre of forward-thinking, creatively confident Sailors, we are paving the way for the Fleet of tomorrow.
Presenters have five minutes to pitch their idea, then the crowd votes on the ideas based on idea quality, actionability, and presentation. The winner receives the Admiral Sims Award for intellectual courage, as well as command backing, leverage of the ATHENA Network, and a small functional team to make the idea become reality.
Growth and transformation within ATHENA is accelerating and we are breaking new ground in the amount of support and interest received from our surrounding military and civilian communities. The ATHENA project has spread from the San Diego waterfront to Norfolk, Mayport, the Pacific Northwest and now Japan. At previous events we've had scientists, engineers, folks from the CNO's Rapid Innovation Cell and Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, professors from local universities, and local entrepreneurs coming to ATHENA to check out the amazing ideas Sailors are coming up with!
We WANT YOU TO PRESENT AN IDEA! You can present as a team or by yourself. The presentation materials and aids are also yours to decide — the only rule is NO PowerPoint.
Your idea doesn't have to be perfect, ATHENA is all about a group of people helping each other with ideas to make our Navy better. Even Navy Secretary Ray Mabus: is talking about ATHENA.
If you have an idea you want to present at ATHENA Far East, shoot us an e-mail - bakert@ddg65.navy.mil or athenanavy@gmail.com.
We hope to see you at the Commodore Matthew Perry General Mess on January 15th at 1245!
To learn more about ATHENA, check out our blog: https://athenanavy.wordpress.com/, connect with our FaceBook page: www.facebook.com/athenanavy, and follow us on Twitter: @AthenaNavy.
Reprinted from the DON/SECNAV Innovation website: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/innovation/.
Join DON Innovation on https://www.facebook.com/DUSNMSI or @DON_Innovation