The need to maximize the cost effectiveness and intelligently leverage technology is imperative to enabling mission command.

The Fort Bragg area is home to nearly 57,000 soldiers, making it the most populous Army installation in the country. TechNet Fort Bragg
Symposium & Exposition offers opportunities for experts and leaders across the Army and Fort Bragg community to address various points of view on controversial issues in FORSCOM, USSOCOM, JSCO, and USASOC communities.

The TechNet Fort Bragg Symposium & Exposition event will take place April 4-6. The theme of the event is “Enabling the Warfighter with Effective Technology.”
The symposium portion of the event aims to build solutions and create future “road maps” while providing a unique opportunity for opposing opinions and positions to be expressed and debated.
The exposition portion offers opportunities to learn about the advances in technology through an interactive approach, by allowing participating industries to showcase its products and services among key decision makers within the DoD from the Fort Bragg area.
“We base this on the idea that our country expects us to achieve information dominance fast. That’s a big umbrella, especially when you look at current worldwide events going on now,” said Gerald “Marv” Gordner, president of AFCEA North Carolina.

“We will have two keynote speakers, one each day, and then we will also have a bunch of breakout sessions,” stated Gordner. “Those breakout sessions will include discussions on everything from artificial intelligence, machine learning, cyber, cloud data to edge, data management, and even some new areas of focus. The event will also feature live and interactive demonstrations.”
On the first day, keynote speaker is retired Lieutenant General Susan Lawrence. Lawrence is a three-star general and is the new president and CEO of AFCEA International.
“Susan is no stranger to Fort Bragg. She started as an E-1 private paratrooper in Fort Bragg before going up the ranks,” stated Gordner.
The first day of the event will also include a Senior Leaders Panel.
The panel will include GS 15 (colonel rank) Trinny Capello from FORSCOM US, a four-star on Fort Bragg, Dr. Sharon Lewis who works for industry and manages over a billion dollar portfolio, Colonel Sparks, Army Special Ops Command communications officer, and John Howell, program executive officer of Enterprise Information Systems.

On April 6, the second keynote speaker will be Brigadier General Jeth Rey. Rey went up the enlistment ranks, then the warrant officer ranks
and the officer ranks.
In addition to keynote speakers and breakout sessions set in place for the event, there will also be nearly 80 exhibitors in attendance that
will range from industry, academia, military, and government. There will also be large and mid-size businesses in attendance demonstrating new
initiatives.
TechNet Fort Bragg has been hosted by AFCEA North Carolina since 2012, and has been held at several locations. After previously being

held at the ETI Center in Spring Lake due to the pandemic, the event is returning to Fort Bragg at the Iron Mike Conference Center.
“We’re back on Fort Bragg, but we are also back in accordance with the acquisition cycle too,” Gordner added.
The Army’s fiscal year ends in September, and due to COVID, the 2021 TechNet Fort Bragg event was pushed back, throwing off the purpose of the event since many funds for the military come in at the end of the year. Therefore, the AFCEA saw the need to have TechNet earlier in 2022.

If you are a military or government civilian working in the technology industry for the North Carolina region, then the Symposium & Exposition is for you. Anyone interested in attending can register online or at the door.
There is a cost for admission for industry at various prices, but military and government get in for free. TechNet Fort Bragg is also offering small businesses and students the opportunity to volunteer and access the event for free. It is estimated that several hundred will be in attendance.

“We don’t know exactly how many will attend, but we’re shooting for seven or 800,” stated Gordner. 

The event is important for professionals in industry, academia, military and government to get together to talk in an appropriate forum and learn lessons and best practices from each other when it comes to technology.

“There are many new areas of focus this year, with senior leaders, breakout sessions, and more officers that are able to get together in a
room and talk about their challenges and opportunities, the event will be highly successful,” Gordner added. 

For more information about the 2022 TechNet Fort Bragg Symposium & Exposition, visit www.technetfortbragg.com/Home.