WEBVTT

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The AFWERX Refinery program

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empowers Airmen and Guardians
to bring their innovative ideas to life.

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Ideas that address real challenges
in the Department of the Air Force.

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In the Refinery, we focus on supporting
Airmen and Guardians

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who are solving problems
in innovative ways by giving them

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the resources, mentorship, and structure
to validate and refine their ideas.

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This isn't just about creating technology,
it's about unleashing the creative power

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of Airmen and Guardians and enabling
innovative teams to develop and transition

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meaningful solutions
that create enhanced capabilities

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across the force and strengthens
our national defense.

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The Refinery provides a rigorous six week
accelerator program where participants

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receive entrepreneurial training,
connections with key stakeholders

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and refine their projects
through rapid prototyping and testing.

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The biggest thing that the Refinery
offered me, for my project,

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is finding the offices
I need to work with.

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Navigating the acquisition space
can be very challenging.

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To find the right person
or the right offices to help

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move a project along and the Refinery
has significantly helped us,

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move our project
by connecting us with the right people.

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Through the Refinery, innovators
gain access to hands on coaching, project

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based learning, and unique resources
to test their solutions effectively.

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This way, ideas are aligned with mission
needs.

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So many problems,
are are repeated across different bases.

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So being able to pull that information,
that knowledge from our youngest airmen

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and then help them
navigate the Air Force bureaucracy

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and take their solutions,
to a larger scale, I think that's

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the greatest advantage of having something
like the Refinery in the Air Force.

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Beyond individual projects,
the Refinery is about building

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a culture of innovation,
enabling service members to tackle

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immediate needs and accelerate solutions
within the Department of the Air Force.

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By the end of the Refinery program,
participants

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not only have a refined product,
but a network of advocates and

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collaborators who are ready to help them
bring their innovation to the Air Force.