Creating an Innovation Workforce CMI2, the Civil-Military Innovation Institute, bridges the gaps in defense innovation, creating functional solutions to support the warfighter with immediate impact and effect. We call it ‘Innovation in the Dirt,’ a frontline approach to fostering military modernization. Offering senior military management expertise, university innovation executive management, and commercial research management capabilities, CMI2 supports creating and utilizing a dynamic civil-military innovation workforce in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense and public safety communities. Building close relationships with military units and service members to understand requirements is a cornerstone of our work, so CMI2 team members are embedded with Soldiers and warfighters at installations across the nation. Our Mission: We foster innovation through direct and constant collaboration between service members and researchers, creating solutions designed to fit warfighters’ needs from the beginning.