Application Endorsement

(September 2023 / Cohort 12) Project Mercury Supervisor Questions

Personal Information

First Name

Last Name

Unit

Service

Rank

Project Mercury

Why do you want to join Project Mercury?

What Relevant Experiences or skills do you bring to a team?

Our theme for this cohort is Accelerating Readiness for Great Power Competition

For Cohort 12 we will look at ways we can prepare, survive and fight in partnership with regional and joint partners. In a future near-peer conflict where air superiority cannot be assumed and the nature of warfare is multifaceted, how can the innovators of Cohort 12 make a difference?

How might we increase small team maneuverability in the Pacific?

How might we change airfield operations in the case of episodic air superiority?

How can we radically increase our participation on allied innovation teams?

What other government agency might we partner with to find hybrid initiatives, thereby disrupting peer competitor advantages?

What problems must be solved in order to sustain ourselves, our allies and partners in future competition and conflict?

How could unconventional hybrid partnerships between services create more conundrums for our adversaries?

How do we actually practice to fight “innovatively” in the future?

How do we identify those problems best solved by normal tasking channels vs innovation teams and/or practices?

During Cohort 12, teams will be required to consider the strengths and interests of our allied partners. Which of the following regions would you be interested in researching as part of your solution?

What other topic areas should our teams consider as we consider the topic of #acceratingreadiness?

Endorsement

Your First Name

Your Last Name

Why do you think this applicant is a good match for Project Mercury?

(Please include skills, motivation, role in the unit, or uniqueness of thought, etc.)

How will this individual be leveraged in the future to help build the innovation culture, competencies, and community of your unit or the broader defense community?

How will you and your unit support this applicant’s time commitment of 6+ hours per week (including 3 hours every Tuesday afternoon) while in the program?

Does your unit agree to a unit funded TDY for this applicant to attend the in person Jumpstart in Washington DC from 22-26 Jan 2024?

Thank you for your support of Project Mercury!

James D. Dryjanski, DAF
Assistant Professor, Air University
Project Mercury Director