U.S. Special Operations Command’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (U.S. SOCOM AT&L), alongside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory, launched the 2026 SOCOM Ignite Program at MIT’s campus and is embarking on a yearlong journey for more than 100 cadets and faculty from over 20 colleges, universities and service academies.
 
The SOCOM Ignite Program is an innovation focused initiative aimed at addressing current and future challenges facing the warfighter, but it also serves as an opportunity to both further the education and ingenuity of future military leaders. The selected teams will have the opportunity to establish relationships with military and technical mentors, culminating in a presentation of their work at Special Operations Forces Week 2026 in Tampa, Florida.
 
This year, U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann, senior enlisted leader for U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, provided the keynote address, encouraging cadets to think ‘outside the box’ as they look to tackle issues specific to special operations.

“I challenge you this weekend - surprise me,” said Naumann. “Don’t try to impress us. Surprise us, come up with ideas that we never would have thought of, even if it’s not the perfect idea; there may be some kernel in that surprise that is the perfect idea. Having this be truly joint is one of the key areas that marks this as a big accomplishment,” said Raoul Ouedraogo, program lead for SOCOM Ignite. “It’s that ability to be able to have all of those different service components work together.”

Beginning in 2020 with an initial group of eight ROTC cadets, the SOCOM Ignite program now hosts more than 100 cadets from universities and service academies across the country. This year, SOCOM Ignite received 48 unique challenges, each submitted from various SOF units. This year was the first year the program received challenges from every component of U.S. SOCOM.