Become A Better You

Edwards Air Force Base is the center of testing in the USAF. That means that every fighter, every bomber, every weapon the USAF deploys goes through continuous testing on the base. It's arduous. It's tough and it is a highly regimented engineering culture that is nearly 10,000 people strong.

As you can imagine, it isn't a place where they take failure lightly. Failure often has catastrophic repercussions. But what happens when you ask people to innovate? New mental models around failure are needed. Failure is fundamental to experimentation, and it is an essential part of innovation.

Much of our work at Edwards was around creating new ways of looking at and communicating about the "F" word. It wasn't easy as most folks were allergic to even a whiff of the word. One of the things we did to change the conversation is create what's known as the "Grit" Award (Edwards named it), but it is a way of honoring Airmen who take on the kind of smart risks that will lead to a more innovative culture.

Congrats to Airman Cantu who is being presented with the award by General Teichert, Commander of the 412 Test Wing.

Edwards Air Force Base - Air Traffic Controller receives Grit Award