11th Airborne aims high with innovation competition
By MSG Adam Ross 11th Airborne Division Public Affairs
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska – The arctic is an unforgiving environment for the warriors who train and live here. Keeping safe and sharp requires unique solutions that account for challenging conditions. Fostering these kind of solutions is a new innovations event hosted by 11th Airborne Division. The second iteration of Angel Ascent will bring multiple teams of creative thinkers together to present their ideas to judges. The Oct. 28, 2026 competition will showcase the creativity employed by Soldiers at 11th Airborne Division to overcome the region’s unique challenges and enable more efficient missions. “This is bottom-up innovation that’s helping to enable the Soldier-driven innovation at their unit,” said Capt. Eleanor Manning, deputy of innovations, 11th Airborne Division Innovations Lab, the sponsor of Angel Ascent. The concept of an innovation competition has been used by other divisions and corps around the Army, as specialized missions and obstacles require a faster process for acquiring technology and other materiel solutions. While the Army has multiple labs and agencies dedicated to identifying materiel gaps and opportunities for innovation, Manning emphasized that some of the easiest – and cheapest – solutions originate from Soldiers who experience the obstacles first-hand. “A lot of these Soldiers are going out and buying printers and other technology on their own dime to put together these solutions, just because they have an issue and want it solved,” said Manning. “The whole intent of the lab is to enable these solutions on a wider scale so we can pass on those lessons learned throughout the division.” The competition also showcases how the means for producing solutions is often already at Soldiers’ disposal, it’s just waiting for a creative application to a problem. The Angel Ascent submission from 725th Light Support Battalion, 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) illustrates such a scenario. When Capt. Daniel Woodard arrived in Alaska to command a supply company, he noticed that the Light Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTVs) in the motor pool still had the same soft cloth covers on top of the gunner hatch that he saw at other locations in the Army. But other Army bases don’t get the kind of snowfall Alaska does, so this feature often led to snow leaking into the cabin of the vehicle. So he set out to create a solution in-house. “We put together a metal version that can sustain the weight of snow, and can also be popped open easily,” said Woodard. Using simple 3-d design software, Woodard’s design was easily fabricated by their trade shop and can now be reproduced by other units for roughly $300 of materials. At the Angel Ascent competition, Woodard’s team will go against several others from the division. Competitors will be judged on a variety of factors, ranging from feasibility, impact and cost. Winners will be presented with Meritorious Service Medals, while all competitors will receive Army Commendation Medals. “The overall intent is not to just select one winner, it’s providing a venue where we can provide visibility for Soldiers and the work they do for their units,” said Manning.
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