Honorary Award recognizes CMI2 for its xTechPacific collaboration, accelerating Soldier-driven experimentation and Army innovation
The Civil-Military Innovation Institute (CMI2) experimentation team was recognized at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory’s (DEVCOM ARL) 31st Annual Honorary Awards Program on Aug. 13, 2026, for its collaboration with the xTechPacific Planning and Execution Team.
CMI2 creates hands-on opportunities for Soldiers to engage with emerging technologies, evaluate capabilities in realistic operational environments, and contribute directly to Army innovation.
The xTechPacific Planning and Execution Team, led by DEVCOM ARL and including CMI2, received the DEVCOM ARL Honorary Award for Impactful Teaming for outstanding collaboration and teamwork in planning and executing xTechPacific 2025, held at Schofield Barracks (Hawaii) in September 2025.
Through xTechPacific, the team enabled Soldiers to evaluate emerging technologies against near-term operational gaps in the Pacific theater, helping accelerate the development and delivery of promising capabilities into the hands of warfighters.
Technologies evaluated during the event included capabilities designed to help Soldiers operating in the Pacific safely and accurately detect unexploded ordnance, protect critical supply lines, and operate effectively in contested electronic warfare environments.
Since establishing its Driving Innovation in Realistic Training (DIRT) Days experimentation and event planning team in 2022, CMI2 has planned and supported more than a dozen experimentation events worldwide. These events advance tactical, bottom-up innovation by placing emerging technologies directly into realistic training environments, where Soldiers and mission operators can evaluate capabilities against operational needs and help identify solutions to critical capability gaps.
“The strength of CMI2 is our ability to take a proven experimentation model and scale it wherever Soldiers need it, across the United States and around the world,” said COL Mitch Kusmier, Vice President of Operations for CMI2. “Our team brings Soldiers, developers, and researchers together in realistic environments to rigorously experiment, rapidly refine emerging technologies, and accelerate relevant capabilities into the hands of warfighters.”
A cornerstone of CMI2-supported experimentation is direct Soldier feedback. Continuous dialogue and close collaboration among operators, researchers, and technology developers keep end-user perspectives at the center of capability evaluation and refinement. This tactical innovation model accelerates iteration, informs technology development, and increases the likelihood that emerging capabilities will address real operational needs in future combat environments.
The award nomination highlighted the team’s committed collaboration as a credit to DEVCOM ARL, DEVCOM, and the Department of the Army, noting the effort’s potential to “ultimately save Soldiers’ lives” and enable the Army to “Win the Pacific.”
“The xTechPacific Planning and Execution Team is awarded the DEVCOM ARL Honorary Award for Impactful Teaming for their outstanding leadership and teamwork in the xTechPacific event planning and execution. The xTechPacific competition addressed near-term Soldier capability gaps in the Department of War’s highest priority theater of operation and provided technologies that will enable Soldiers fighting in the Pacific theater to safely and accurately detect unexploded ordinance, protect supply lines, and provide overmatch in electronic warfare. These capabilities will ultimately save Soldiers’ lives and enable the Army to “Win the Pacific.” The teams’ outstanding contributions reflect great credit upon themselves, DEVCOM ARL, DEVCOM, and the Department of the Army.” – Event Program overview from the ARL Honors.
The team recognized through the 31st Annual Honorary Awards Program included DEVCOM ARL oversight from Dr. Arwen H. DeCostanza, Mark Miltenberger, Patrick Gordon (CTR), and John Coomer (CTR), with xTech program oversight from Jessica Stillman, Jaime Wilson, David Chau, MAJ Michael Rose, Ed Hewitt, SCPO Krystal Meza, CW2 Matthew Davis, and MSG Matthew Janis.
CMI2’s effort was led by DIRT Days Lead Planner Brian Gazaway, with support from Autumn Stake, Trevor Brison, and additional CMI2 team members who contributed to the planning and execution of xTechPacific.
“This recognition reflects what our experimentation team does best: bringing the right people together,” Kusmier said. “By starting with the end-users, the Soldiers, as our primary focus and scaling realistic experimentation opportunities around the world, we are working to ensure the best technology and capabilities exist to support our Soldiers.”
This marks the second time the CMI2 collaboration with DEVCOM ARL has been recognized through the Honorary Awards Program. In October 2023, CMI2 was recognized through the Honorary Awards Program for its work with DEVCOM ARL to develop unique tools, resources, and processes that bring Soldiers directly into the Army’s innovation and science and technology (S&T) process, specifically the Design, Innovation, Research, Technology (DIRT) Labs. To date, there are 11 DIRT Lab facilities worldwide.
In fiscal year 2026, the CMI2 DIRT Days team has advanced experimentation readiness and warfighter lethality by supporting the Rapid Operational Innovation Detachment (ROID) DIRT Days in collaboration with DEVCOM ARL and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
