Retired 4-Star General Thomas Schwartz joins Taqtile as strategic advisor

In General XR News

December 9, 2022 – Taqtile, a provider of augmented reality (AR)-based work instruction solutions for deskless employees and the maker of AR-enabled work-instruction platform Manifest, has recently announced that decorated 4-Star General Thomas A. Schwartz, USA, Ret., has joined the company as a Strategic Advisor in Taqtile’s growing global defense business.

General Schwartz will advise and support the evolution and adoption of the company’s Manifest platform for use in the defense industry. The company noted that current usage of Manifest by military customers includes the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, the Royal Australian Navy, and other Allied defense forces, as well as OEMs and systems integrators around the globe.

Over his distinguished career, General Schwartz has held numerous leadership positions in Korea, Germany, and the US Among his roles was the command of Fort Hood in Texas, the third largest military base in the US, with a staff of 217,000 people, including 45,000 active military personnel. At Fort Hood, Schwartz saw the need for a better way to capture and utilize the expertise of skilled operators and maintainers, according to Taqtile.

“Years ago, I envisioned a solution enabling military personnel to perform maintenance tasks and SOPs (standard operating procedures), even unfamiliar ones, consistently and safely at high proficiency levels,” stated General Schwartz. “Taqtile has created the solution that I envisioned and has taken the idea farther than I could have imagined. As the speed with which systems and equipment become more complex, there is an immediate and acute need across our armed forces to ensure readiness and operational continuity. To this end, Manifest delivers capabilities on-demand.”

Manifest is designed to empower industrial workers and military personnel to complete often complex procedures more consistently and accurately by decreasing cognitive load and stress. Personnel responsible for maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) and preventative maintenance and inspection procedures can benefit from the Manifest platform, thanks to its features that include access to real-time remote assistance from experts who can guide staff through complex tasks.

“It is truly an honor to have General Schwartz involved with Taqtile. In addition to being a genuine American hero and icon, when it comes to addressing the challenges of our modern military, there are few people on the planet as knowledgeable as General Schwartz,” said Dirck Schou, Co-founder and CEO of Taqtile. “With his input and counsel, the Taqtile team will continue its journey to make Manifest more effective, deployable, and useful to our military Customers.”

General Schwartz graduated from West Point in 1967 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry. Taqtile highlighted that he received a Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart during his service in Vietnam. He earned three Master’s degrees: one in Education from Duke University; another in Personnel Management from Salve Regina University; and a third in Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He also served as Chairman of the Board for the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), dedicated to supporting all military-connected children by educating, advocating, and collaborating to resolve education challenges associated with the military lifestyle.

For more information on Taqtile and its augmented reality solutions for the defense sector, please visit the company’s website.

Image credit: Taqtile

About the author

Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.