Air Force Reservists Capt. David Garrett and Master Sgt. James Scapperotti created an innovative solution to access electronic versions of key Air Force Instructions.

"We had never done app development before," Garrett said. “We started looking into it, and all of the tools you need to create a mobile app are readily available. So we decided to give it a shot.”

"If you look in the waiting room at the medical clinic or at lunchtime at the Base Exchange, you'll see that Airmen always have their smartphones in their hands," Garrett said. "We thought it just made sense to put these tools in their hands whenever they might need them. 

Garrett calls AFIs like the Little Brown Book (the Enlisted Structure) or the Blue Book (AF Core Values) “priceless, whether you are enlisted or an officer so why not have them available on your smartphone wherever you are?”

In the future the innovators hope the app can help young Airman connect in others ways including with finding a mentor or for tracking physical fitness.  

Garrett and Scapperotti hope that what they have done with the AF Pocket Mentor might inspire other Reservists to try their hand at finding innovative solutions to potential problems.

“We came across a problem we thought needed fixing, and we wanted to push ourselves to do something neither of us had ever done before” said Garrett. “Hopefully, we've come up with a solution that Airmen will find useful."

Capt. Garrett and Master Sgt. Scapperotti are innovators!