Fort Bragg hosted the fifth episode of Dragon’s Lair, an event that allows seven candidates to pitch their innovations and ideas to the command and industry leaders in a shark-tank style contest.  

The event was held from 9 a.m.- noon on the installation

Dragon’s Lair began in late 2020 as a way for soldiers across the Corps to submit solutions to inefficiencies in regards to army programs, training and/or policies. 

The seven soldiers presenting today were selected from a pool of over 50 candidates, said Joe Buccino, XVIII Airborne Corps innovation officer. 

Seven candidates gave their 10-minute presentations to a panel.

The seven soldiers presenting were: 

1. Lt. Col Jason Harlan 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, G.A.
   Pitch: M1A2 cable towing system for vehicle recovery
    
2. Lt. Col Michael Hefti, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, G.A.
   Pitch: Augmented reality goggles to train soldiers on vehicle maintenance and repairs
   
   1st Lt. Mahdi Al-Husseini, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, H.I.
   Pitch: Leverage AI to train, measure and record pilot performance through iterative feedback
3. Capt. Steven Sheets, 16th Military Police Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C.
   Pitch: Conduct a sleep study of Military Police Soldiers to measure performance effectiveness
   
    
4. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Matthew Swift, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
   Pitch: Attach solar panels to vehicles for efficient battery charging
   
   Maj. Ben Hall, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, K.Y. 
   Pitch: Arms room automation system to digitize weapons sign out using Soldiers’ Common Access Cards
    
5. Sgt. 1st Class Michele Rebelo, 2nd Battalion, Security Forces Assistance Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C.
   Pitch: Mandate every sexual assault responses coordinator to maintain a ‘SHARP Go-Bag’ to provide readily accessible items to victims 
   
   The winner will be announced tomorrow morning, Tuesday, Sept. 28. 

“They will receive a military service medal, a four-day pass and access to an army school of their choice,” Buccino said.