HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The 2014 Association of the United States Army's (AUSA) Institute of Land Warfare Winter Symposium and Exposition kicked off Feb. 19 with welcoming remarks from Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and AUSA President Retired Army Gen. Gordon Sullivan.
Bentley thanked AUSA for hosting the annual event in Huntsville -- a first for the city.
"Huntsville has a long military history," Bentley said. "Nine hundred and nine defense contractors call Huntsville home. We have $5.6 billion in defense contracts in the state of Alabama."
The symposium's theme is America's Army: Sustaining, Training, and Equipping for the Future. The theme is appropriate, according to the event's first speaker, Army Materiel Command Commanding General, Gen. Dennis L. Via.
"AMC, in partnership with Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition Logistics and Technology and U.S. Army Forces Command, play a key role in sustaining and equipping the force," Via told the gathered audience. "History taught us all too well there will be a future contingency," he added. "We need to be ready, trained and equipped to meet that contingency when it calls."
AMC, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, is the Army lead for this year's event, which provides a partner-focused platform to discuss the U.S. Army way-ahead with key Army, Department of Defense, foreign military and industry stakeholders.
Panel topics include Industrial Operations, Modernization, Industrial Partnering, the Operational Environment in 2025, 2030 Requirements, and Operationalizing the Cyber Domain for the Army.
This is the first time AUSA has held the Winter Symposium in Huntsville. In addition to the more than 900 defense contracting agencies based in the northern Alabama city, many Army and defense commands are based at nearby Redstone Arsenal. Those include: Army Aviation and Missile Command, Army Security Assistance Command, Army Contracting Command, Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, Army Space and Missile Defense Command and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, among others.
Sullivan said locating the symposium in Huntsville allowed AUSA to maximize military, civilian and industry attendance. "This is a superb opportunity for professional development, and it remains very cost effective," he said.
Huntsville serves as one of the United States' principal centers for space and defense technology. It is home to the second largest research park in the U.S. Nearly every major aerospace corporation is represented in the community, as well as numerous science and technology corporations.
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