AFCEA’s TechNet Augusta 2013 On My Mind

Soon I’ll be headed down south to the fine state of Georgia to attend AFCEA’s TechNet Augusta 2013 government conference. My last government event was AFCEA West 2013 in San Diego, and I hope this trip will be as enlightening and useful.

While looking forward to meeting with our customers from nearby Fort Gordon, I have to confess the foodie in me is looking forward to experiencing what Georgia’s second oldest city has to offer restaurant wise. From the looks of the dining guide provided by the local Convention and Visitors Bureau, I shouldn’t have any trouble finding a great place to eat.

The event’s theme is “Modernizing for Network 2020 and Beyond: Empower, Connect, Dominate!” The focus of the event’s panels, keynotes, and track sessions will be empowering military professionals to connect and dominate through increasingly intelligent networks. Though it’s a government event, speakers will include folks from the military, federal agencies, business, and top universities.

Though it’s primarily an Army event, I did notice that some top brass from other military branches are going to be on hand for the conference as well.

Kicking off the event with the Tuesday morning keynote is Major General LaWarren Patterson. He is the Commanding General at the Army‘s Signal Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon.

Lieutenant General Keith Walker will be speaking during Tuesday’s keynote luncheon. The Harvard grad is a Deputy Commanding General as well as Director of the Army’s Capabilities Integration Center located at Fort Eustis, VA.

AFCEA stacked the deck for Wednesday morning’s keynote, which features Lieutenant General Susan Lawrence, the Army’s CIO/G-6. She happens to be a graduate of Campbell University, where I attended college, so I’m excited to hear her speak.

Lawrence reports directly to the US Secretary of the Army John McHugh and assists in establishing strategic direction and objectives as well as supervises all Army IT and C4 (command, control, communications, and computers) functions.

Wednesday afternoon’s keynote will feature General Dennis Via, Commanding General of the Army’s Materiel Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville AL.

There will be two noteworthy panel sessions during TechNet Augusta 2013:

• Industry Panel: Entitled “Synchronizing the Technology, Performance, and Investment Required to Modernize for Network 2020,” former Army CIO and 37-year veteran Jeff Sorenson will moderate. Now a partner in aerospace and defense firm AT Kearney, Sorenson spent 20 years as a certified U.S. Army Materiel Acquisition Manager. Joining him on the panel will be HP Public Sector CTO Jeff Bergeron, Harris Corporation Defense VP Dennis Moran, PacStar CTO Charlie Kawasaki, and General Dynamics VP William Weiss.

• Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Panel: Entitled “Joint Operations in Cyberspace,” this panel will be moderated by Command Sergeant Major Ronald Pflieger of the Army‘s Signal Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon. The panel is made up of representatives from four military branches and the National Guard, including Master Gunnery Sergeant Adam Bethard, USMC; Sergeant Major Robert Trawick, Jr., Army; SCPO Nathan A. Maleu, Navy; Chief Master Sergeant Edward J. Golombeski, Air Force; and Sergeant Major Eric M. Johnson, National Guard.

TechNet Augusta 2013 also features an Empower Track session called “Managing ITIL” that I want to blog about afterwards, so you ITIL folks stay tuned.

If you want to keep up with what’s going on at TechNet Augusta 2013, follow us on Twitter @GKonGovt for daily updates.

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