An infomercial inspired William Durham, with the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, Okla., to try a steamer and detergent, instead of the current hazardous chemicals, to clean the carbonized fuel, called coking, off of F-15 engine parts. The experiment yielded clean fuel distribution bodies, eliminated the environmentally hazardous chemical cleanser, and has saved the Air Force tens of thousands of dollars. And, it netted Durham $10,000 from the Innovative Development through Employee Awareness Program.
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…