Military Leaders Take a Closer Look at Innovation Requirements

Fairfax, Virginia, Oct. 03, 2017 -- Lt. Gen. Bruce T. Crawford, USA, chief information officer/G-6, U.S. Army, describes the relationship between the military and industry as one that’s changing and includes an increased need to adapt rapidly. Because of what he calls “the confluence of strategic circumstances,” the public-private partnership will need to focus on building the network needed for the future fight.

According to Gen. Crawford, the strategic circumstances include global instability; an increasing demand for ground forces; the rapid pace at which technology is evolving; and the rising speed of battlefield decision-making. “The bottom line, when it comes to the threat, is that never again will we have the luxury of operating in uncontested space. That’s become a part of who we are now,” he says.

 Although significant gains in capabilities have been made at the echelon level, the current network is not the network the military will need in the future environment against a near-peer threat, the general relates. “In the end, we need a network that works for the soldier instead of making the soldier work for the network,” he says.

The future of the military network will be one of several topics discussed at MILCOM 2017, which takes place October 23-25 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland. Panel participants will explore defensive cyber operations, compliance issues in government-commercial partnerships, and assured satellite communications in contested environments.

 Gen. Crawford will be one of many experts who will share their ideas and insights at the conference. Other speakers and panelists will include:

• Maj. Gen. Randy S. Taylor, USA, commanding general, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, and senior commander, Aberdeen Proving Ground;
• Robert E. Tarleton Jr., director, MILSATCOM Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command;
• Essye B. Miller, deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity, U.S. Defense Department;
• Col. George R. Nagy, USAF, chief, space support to operations division, deputy undersecretary for space and principal U.S Defense Department Space Advisor Staff;
• Rear Adm. Nancy Norton, USN, vice director, DISA; and
• Margaret H. Graves, acting federal chief information officer and administrator for e-government and information technology, Office of Management and Budget.

In addition to exhibits, panels and speakers, MILCOM features presentations of unclassified technical papers and a restricted-access technical program as well as tutorials. More than a dozen of the sessions qualify as continuing education to help maintain cybersecurity certifications.

 Additional information about MILCOM 2017 is available online.

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/14d1ceb2-9e4a-4340-9e47-fcc880ac831d

Maryann Lawlor
AFCEA International
(703) 631-6179
[email protected]