Marine Corps Warfighting Lab Promotes Innovation Across Force

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — The Marine Corps wants to be more innovative. Yes, the organization that has a rich history of innovation is trying to strengthen its culture of innovation across the force and not just on the battlefield or in a crisis.  Marine Corps leaders recognize that in order to meet the challenges of future operating environments and face enemies that don”t follow the traditional rules of warfare the Corps must find a way to harness the untapped cognitive and creative abilities of its Marines, Sailors, and civilians.
Nearly 200 innovative and disruptive thinkers from the private sector, across the Department of Defense and academia came together at the Marine Corps” Force Development 25 Innovation Symposium to help the Corps jump start the change.
Dean Kamen, a noted and prolific inventor talked about the challenges he faced creating new and innovative technologies and about the difficulties in affecting change.  As a sobering reminder of how difficult innovation is, he outlined some “Rude Reminders” he learned the hard way. Among them is the idea that “Great technology alone rarely constitutes innovation.”