Synergy Strike Force

Synergy Strike Force was the self-chosen informal name of a group of individuals who applied crowdsourcing techniques towards aid work in Afghanistan.[1][2] Dave Warner, an MD, neuroscientist and Army veteran, is credited with leading the group and finding funding for it, primarily sourced from DARPA.

This balloon contained a satellite dish that helped the Taj Mahal guesthouse provide an internet connection to guests, and to high-tech projects in the vicinity.

In a profile by Brian Calvert for Pacific Standard magazine, Warner described why the group's headquarters was outside the military security perimeter and field trips were made with a light security presence.[1]

Warner leased the Taj Mahal guesthouse in Jalalabad and supplied it with a rare high-speed internet connection.[1] Western visitors were encouraged to share data they acquired, which would be freely shared with whoever wanted it. Warner said this free data sharing was inspired by the annual Burning Man festival which embraces the concept of "radical inclusion."

Sharon Weinberger, author of a book about DARPA entitled The Imagineers of War, also described the activities of the Synergy Strike Force in detail.[2]

Spencer Ackerman, reporting in Wired magazine, described how the group's funding ran out in 2012 as the war ran down.[3]

Ackerman also noted the contribution made by Todd Huffman, a volunteer who would go on to found hi-tech biomedical imaging firm 3Scan.[3]

References

Brian Calvert (2013-07-01). "The Merry Pranksters Who Hacked the Afghan War". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2017-03-18. WARNER'S ENTIRE TEAM - WHICH he called, in all seriousness, the Synergy Strike Force - had just attended Burning Man that summer. He himself had been attending annually since 2002. And the bar, it turned out, was his bar.
Sharon Weinberger (2017). The Imagineers of War: The Untold History of DARPA, the Pentagon Agency That Changed the World. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. pp. 342–343, 355–356, 358, 425–426. ISBN 9780385351799. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
Spencer Ackerman (May 2012). "Cash, and Time, Runs Out for Afghanistan's Wi-Fi City". Wired magazine. Retrieved 2017-03-18. The milieu around the guest house called itself the Synergy Strike Force, or SSF — an informal network for development and tech projects, but mostly a cool name for a crew of about a dozen friends.

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[PsMag2013-07-01-1] Brian Calvert (2013-07-01). "The Merry Pranksters Who Hacked the Afghan War". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2017-03-18. WARNER'S ENTIRE TEAM - WHICH he called, in all seriousness, the Synergy Strike Force - had just attended Burning Man that summer. He himself had been attending annually since 2002. And the bar, it turned out, was his bar.

[ImagineersOfWar-2] Sharon Weinberger (2017). The Imagineers of War: The Untold History of DARPA, the Pentagon Agency That Changed the World. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. pp. 342–343, 355–356, 358, 425–426. ISBN 9780385351799. Retrieved 2017-03-18.

[Wired2012-05-3] Spencer Ackerman (May 2012). "Cash, and Time, Runs Out for Afghanistan's Wi-Fi City". Wired magazine. Retrieved 2017-03-18. The milieu around the guest house called itself the Synergy Strike Force, or SSF — an informal network for development and tech projects, but mostly a cool name for a crew of about a dozen friends.