Liveblogging: Industry Symposium 2007

The U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) Public Affairs Staff will blog live from the two-day NDIA-USJFCOM Industry Symposium July 31-Aug. 1. USJFCOM’s leadership as well as other distinguished military and state government leaders, including Virginia's governor, will speak at the "Hampton Roads... Supporting Joint Force Operations" 2007 symposium designed to raise industry and academia's awareness of joint warfighting challenges and solutions.

Editor's note: USJFCOM Public Affairs provided an Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed for this liveblog all day. This allowed readers to track our entries in real time as they are posted. Click here to add this feed to your RSS reader. To learn more about RSS and other feeds USJFCOM offers, click here.

9:24 a.m. -- The Commander speaks -- from Robert Pursell – Today we’re at the bustling Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Va. where U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) and its partner, the National Defense Industrial Association, Greater Hampton Roads Chapter (NDIA-GHRC), will host this year's industry symposium.

Titled “Hampton Roads...Supporting Joint Force Operations,” the two-day symposium will highlight Hampton Roads' contributions to joint military, coalition, and interagency operations. It’s designed to raise industry and academia's awareness of joint warfighting challenges and solutions.

The NDIA’s Jim Metzger, Greater Hampton Roads Chapter President, just opened up the symposium welcoming attendees and discussing the importance of the event.

He said the industry symposium gives USJFCOM the opportunity to discuss some of the things they’re doing and gives industry the chance to show some of the things they’re doing as well. It allows them to come together and discuss some of the challenges that each face.

Metzger is now giving a complete bio on and introducing the keynote speaker for the symposium, USJFCOM Commander Air Force Gen. Lance Smith.

Smith kicked things off by discussing his views on the future of the joint battlespace.

He said the four visions that USJFCOM are most focused on are:
• strategic planning and ops;
• persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR);
• modeling and simulation (M&S) and;
• global joint training.

Smith stressed that most of the military investment is on all things tactical, whether it’s training or new technologies. On the contrary, our enemies invest mostly at the political level. He said we need to invest more there as well.

Smith discussed strategic planning and operations and said it’s extremely important for the government agencies to work with the military and to help each other.

“We’re going to have to have common training and operating in a collaborative interoperable environment,” said Smith.

He said the future of persistent ISR should be as common as GPS [Global Positioning System].

“We will live in an environment some day where a soldier out on the battlefield will just have to pick up a laptop and be able to get full motion video from a UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle]. It just makes sense. The question is do we have the strategy that will get us there sooner rather than later,” said Smith.

When talking about M&S, he showed a video of a simulated view of Baghdad and said you can not only model the environment but also behaviors such as crowd reaction.

Smith stressed the importance of it with regards to mission rehearsal and said having a realistic environment does wonders for the warfighter in preparing for a mission and where they’ll need to be and where to go.

Another video was shown of a target that needed to be hit but displayed the line of sight for the warfighter. This allows them to know where they need to be to stay hidden.

He stressed the some of the work the USJFCOM is doing with M&S not only can benefit the military, but also interagencies, and state and local governments.

Smith said global joint training with our coalition partners is how we’ll conduct training in the future. It’s just going to take some time and some money.

He said overall the way ahead depends on having a shared vision of these four views between the military, the agencies, and industry and if we achieve that, the mission will be successful.

11 a.m. -– Lines of operation -- from MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir

I just attended a brief panel, hosted by USJFCOM Chief of Staff Navy Rear Adm. Ben Wachendorf, that gave the attendees an introduction into today's breakout sessions. There will be two, one before lunch and one after.

“The purpose of these breakout sessions is to give more insight into some of the command's functions that might be of interest to our industry partners here at the symposium,” Wachendorf said. “This will allow them to go a little deeper into these areas than they can in a large group.”

Wachendorf introduced the crowd to the session leaders, who each gave a brief description of what the command is looking for from industry in each area.

Army Brig. Gen. Dennis Jacobson, vice director of the command's Operations, Plans, Logistics and Engineering Directorate, discussed global force provision and that the command is looking for ways to automate the process from beginning to end.

Mr. Dave Ozolek, executive director of the USJFCOM's Joint Futures Laboratory, said spoke about how the command is looking for solutions for the future, while addressing the needs of today's warfighter.

“Experimentation is all about the competition of ideas,” Ozolek said. “It allows us to take radically different ideas, many of which come with very high risk, and put them into a risk-free environment so we can examine their potential.”

Army Maj. Gen. John McLaren, deputy commander of USJFCOM's Joint Warfighting Center and deputy director of the command's Joint Training Directorate, discussed the command's work in training joint forces, as well as individual warfighters assigned to support joint forces.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Mike Hostage, director of the command's Joint Capability Development Directorate, discussed the command's role as DoD's Joint Command and Control Capability Portfolio Manager.

Navy Rear Adm. Tim Moon, acting director of USJFCOM Standing Joint Force Headquarters (SJFHQ), spoke about how the command supports joint task force commanders in the field with enabling capabilities like the SJFHQ Core Elements and the Joint Public Affairs Support Element.

Finally, Dr. Russ Richards, manager of USJFCOM’s Office of Research and Technology Applications, said the breakout session will cover the legal and policy mechanisms in place that allow industry partners to help the command find solutions to warfighting challenges.

Boeing was showing off the upcoming C17B, the replacement for the C17. The C17B has a number of new features; center landing gear, inflatable tires, increased horse power, that allows it to operate on shorter runways then a regular C17. It can also make better use of dirt runways and has more defensive capabilities.

If you prefer sea travel, General Dynamics had a booth featuring the new Littoral Combat Ship. The Littoral is the next generation of combat ships capable of operating in shallower waters than most combat ships. It has a hanger, roll on ramps for combat vehicles, a Star Trek-like integrated bridge and a crew of only 45.

Northrop Grumman had a new computer simulation on display, the Civil Effects Leadership Training Simulation or CELTS. CELTS is a turn-based war simulator that focused on the hearts and minds battle instead of the bombs and bullets battle. The program is based on the latest census data from Afghanistan and Iraq and measures a variety of categories to determine the population’s level of trust. The program is currently in use by the Army's Command and General Staff College.

A number of smaller vendors also had booths. Jabber had a booth featuring its latest real time XML router. Verizon was displaying the next generation Blackberry with a global email and voicemail feature, thus forever keeping you on in communication with the office. Smart Tronix was showing off the latest rugged laptops. New features included a secure wireless card, a wireless laser range finder attachment and a night vision filter on the screen.

AMTI, a division of SAIC, had one of the most interesting booths so far. They were proudly showing off a prototype remote controlled vehicle used for counter IED measures. It looked kind of a like a miniature Hummer, very slick and all black. It was equipped with a camera and easily traversed the terrain of the show room, and drawing a lot attention. A Navy chief warrant officer was having way too much fun driving the prototype and harassing everyone walked by.

1:30 p.m. -- Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Joseph Weber -- from MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir

Marine Lt. Gen. Joseph Weber delivered Industry Symposium 2007's first day lunch keynote address during lunch. He is the commander of U.S. Marine Forces Command and used the address as a vehicle to communicate with industry about warfighter needs.

“I think there are some things we need to get on the table from the operator's perspective, with respect to what you (industry) provide,” Weber said. “I think it's our responsibility as men and women who wear the uniform to do some things, one I think is very important is that we articulate our requirements very clearly.”

He said the means of meeting those requirements must take cost into consideration.

“We can't find ourselves building things that are so expensive that we can't afford to put them into combat, because you may lose them,” he said. “You can't afford to use them in the global war on terrorism because some 50-year-old system may take them out. We have to be very smart, practical and realistic, and you've got to help us with that.”

Weber said that the timeliness of solutions is just as important as cost effectiveness, because our adversaries have the ability to quickly adapt. He said that maintaining the relationship between the military and industry is a key factor in finding solutions the the challenges the operator in the field faces.

“Relationships are very important,” Weber said. “You can't accomplish anything without human interaction.”

Weber said that among today's warfighter's most important requirements are force protection and maintaining mobility. He also said finding alternate sources of energy is a priority, saying much of DoD's daily budget goes to paying for fuel. He said command and control is a big concern.

He said that while great strides are being made with modeling and simulation, we can't depend on that alone to train.

“Modeling and simulation is great, but it's got to be in conjunction with getting out there and getting your boots dirty.”

He also said culture and language training and the ability to sustain advances in technology are important as well. He also cautioned the group not to put their entire focus into fighting the present conflict.

“We cannot forget the fact that there is still the threat of conventional war,” Weber said.

Weber said that the Hampton Roads area can do many things to help the military, and through that energize the local economy. He said military salaries are a large part of the area's economy.

He said area business leaders need to ask themselves how they can increase production on the things the military needs, producing quality products and services.

From a Marine Corps perspective, Weber said the commandant has outlined his top priorities:
• Providing for Marines and sailors in combat
• Ensuring the Marine Corps is ready and capable of the full spectrum of operations
• Right sizing the force
• Strengthening the Navy/Marine Corps team
• Looking beyond the horizon

“I think NDIA is the perfect fit to do all this,” Weber concluded.

1:59 p.m. –- Covering the boards (part 1) -- from Robert Pursell

I just returned from lunch for part two of the “Lines of Operations” breakout session. This time I’ll be covering two groups, the Joint Capabilities Development Board and the Joint Enabling Capabilities Board.

Director of Joint Capability Development, Air Force Maj. Gen Mike Hostage kicked off the Joint Capabilities Development Board. He discussed the role of his directorate, to integrate capabilities across the command and put tools in the warfighter’s hand.

Hostage said the thing that’s driving this is the Joint Command and Control Capability Portfolio Manager (JC2 CPM). The mission of JC2 CPM is to establish capability portfolio management that delivers integrated JC2 capabilities, improves interoperability, identifies and captures efficiencies, reduces capability redundancies and gaps, and increases joint operational effectiveness.

I’m going to go head over the other group now before I miss them.

2:16 p.m. –- Covering the boards (part 2) -- from Robert Pursell -- I just walked into the breakout room focused on Joint Enabling Capabilities. Rear Adm. Tim Moon, the acting director of Standing Joint Force Headquarters, is the featured speaker here and he’s discussing the motivation and major challenges of the Joint Enabling Capabilities Board.

Moon said the goal is to achieve coherence and ensure readiness in USJFCOM activities that augment joint task force headquarters (JTF HQ). The board is the focal point for USJFCOM capability support to a forming JTF HQ.

A JTF HQ provides each warfighting joint theater with a trained-and-equipped standing, joint command and control (C2) capability. This capability is organized to reduce the lag time involved in setting up a JTF headquarters ready to rapidly and decisively conduct operations in small-scale contingencies.

The idea here, just as in the previous breakout sessions, is to give industry the chance to see what USJFCOM is working on to see if there is any interest in providing support.

3:30 p.m. -- "Doing business with USJFCOM" -- from Army Spc. Andrew Orillion -- Partnership was the key message of a break out session on doing business with USJFCOM. Navy Capt. James Polowczyk, head of the Business Management Office and Dr. Russ Richards, manager of the Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) talked on how the command approaches different business relationships.

Polowczyk spoke first, telling the audience that USJFCOM was focused on service, not material and that the future strategy would be to reduce the number of contracts for unique directorate requirements. He then talked about USJFCOM’s partnership with Old Dominion University and local business to help meet its needs.

Polowczyk mainly focused on ways for local business, not just the major firms, to partner with USJFCOM and develop solutions to problems that USJFCOM and its agencies faced. Polowczyk suggested checking the command’s website or FedBizOpps. Teaming up with a current partner was another method suggested, as was attending gathering like this symposiums.

The important thing to remember said Polowczyk is that USJFCOM is always looking for new partners, especially small and local businesses.Richards took the floor next. Like Polowczyk, Richards was wanted to get the word out about where and how business could partner with USJFCOM.

Richards reviewed the process that often leads to partnerships with USJFCOM, starting with input from commanders, the establishment of priorities for how to deal with the problem and ending with possible solution.

As head of ORTA, Richard is closely involved with many of the Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) that are the work horse mechanism for transformation. CRADAs are legal agreements between a government entity and one or more non-government parties in which both work together to solve a problem.

Richards emphasized that most CRADA’s are initiated by the company, not by the government. He also said that CRADAs are true partnerships since no money is involved.

In addition to CRADAs Richards talked about Small Business Innovation Research program, which focuses on businesses with fewer than 500 employees. He also mentioned the Small Business Technology Transfer Program and the Education Partnership Agreement.
Richards said that the eventual goal is to make USJFCOM more externally focused when it comes to finding solutions.

4:14 p.m. –- Recognizing partners -- From Robert Pursell -- To wrap things up for the first day, we’re in the exhibit hall where Russ Richards, who heads up USJFCOM’s Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA), is recognizing industry partners with whom they’ve signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with.

A CRADA is cooperative research that will enhance the mission of the command and benefit the other party. CRADAs define the individual responsibilities of each party and rights to intellectual property developed under the agreement.

Under federal law, the command can establish CRADAs with industrial organizations, industrial development organizations, non-profit organizations, universities, state and local governments. USJFCOM may provide personnel, facilities, and equipment to perform the cooperative research, but may not provide funds to support a CRADA. The other party may provide personnel, facilities, equipment, and funding.

Those recognized include:
• Hewlett Packard;
• Lockheed Martin;
• Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC);
• Honeywell;
• Raytheon;
• Alion;
• L-3 Communications;
• Northrop Grumman;
• Microsoft and;
• Boeing.

That will wrap up an exciting and information – packed day one of the symposium. We’ll see you tomorrow.

Joint Warfighting Conference open for registration
Online registration is now available for the fourth annual Joint Warfighting Conference being held May 11 - 13 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.
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