During spring recess, seniors Austen Bowers and Jarrett Flint competed in the 11th Annual Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Challenge at the Griffiss Institute, located at the Griffiss Technology Park, in Rome.
For five days, Bowers and Flint, along with advisor Mr. Darrah, worked on creating and executing a detailed plan following the Plan-Brief-Execute-Debrief (PBED) method. The trio specifically had to navigate a military simulation to successfully locate a person of interest using a drone - - all while competing against teams from other schools. 
In order to complete the challenge, each team needed to covertly take control of and disable an enemy surveillance drone, locate the person of interest by remotely entering an enemy workstation and router and filtering internet traffic, locate GPS data through unsecure internet applications and identify the person of interest’s bodyguard by calculating distances between GPS data points.
Throughout the week, teams were instructed on potential methods to complete the challenge, but independent research was needed to create an adequate plan for the mission. On Thursday, April 18, teams were put to the test and had to complete the mission during four separate timed trials. Each forty-five-minute trial included new challenges that had to be overcome. On Friday, April 19, teams had to present a debriefing of the operation to a board of professional researchers and engineers and answer questions in public forum.
Westmoreland’s team of Bowers of Flint finished the trials with a perfect success rate.
“The students at the AFRL Challenge always amaze me,” Mr. Darrah said. “At the beginning of the week, everyone’s head was spinning with an overwhelming amount of new information and a seemingly impossible task. By the end of the week, however, you see how much planning and teamwork can achieve. The students should be very proud of their accomplishments.”
Students interested in competing in next year’s competition during spring recess should see Mr. Darrah.
Congratulations to Austen Bowers and Jarrett Flint!