FORT BENNING, Ga., (Sept. 2, 2015) -- The Maneuver Warfighter Conference, a conference that provides a forum to address current and future issues affecting the maneuver force, is Sept. 14-17 at McGinnis-Wickam Hall.
The conference represents all three maneuver disciplines present at Fort Benning - Infantry, Armor and Cavalry - and will focus on issues affecting the warfighting capability, training and lethality of the maneuver force.
The theme for this year's conference is "Future Maneuver - Building Soldiers, Leaders and Formations that are Smart, Fast, Lethal and Precise ..."
"That's a constant theme that we hear from (Maj.) Gen. (Scott) Miller (Maneuver Center of Excellence commanding general) and it echoes the sentiments of the operating force for what we need of our units and of our Soldiers who are in the units," said Col. Geoffrey Norman, MCoE G-3 operations.
Presentations focusing on this year's theme will be given throughout the conference, including keynote speakers from across the Army.
Speakers include: Gen. David Perkins, Training and Doctrine Command commanding general; Lt. Gen. Robert Brown, Combined Arms Center commanding general; Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, director of Army Capabilities Integration Center and TRADOC; Gen. Robert Abrams, Forces Command commanding general; and retired Gen. William Wallace, who served as commanding general of TRADOC.
"We are getting folks to talk to us from Iraq and Afghanistan and we're also getting folks who can give us insights as far back as Vietnam and earlier, so we can understand how the Maneuver Center can best prepare our guys for the current environment," Norman said.
Norman said there will be a series of morning sessions led by an expert who will give briefings in Marshall Auditorium.
"Those big sessions will be attended by all of the attendees of the Maneuver Conference, as well as students who are here at Fort Benning going through their professional military education courses," Norman said.
In the afternoon, there will be working groups, hosted by MCoE leaders, designed to tackle important topics that the MCoE is looking to make progress on through the course of the next year, Norman said.
"Gen. Miller has given them the task of exploring a topic and answering key questions," Norman said.
"At the end of the conference, those working groups' leads will come back and describe to Gen. Miller and the command group what they discussed and what they accomplished, and they will map out a way to resolve outstanding issues within that topic area," Norman said.
The conference also gives the MCoE an opportunity to reconnect with professional organizations, such as the Armor Association and the Infantry Association, Norman said.
The Armor Association will host the 2015 Gold Medallion Dinner to recognize and knight the Order of Saint George and Noble Patron of Armor Gold Medallion recipients for their post-military career contributions to the Armor and military communities.
This year's recipients are retired Maj. Gen. Rob Goff, retired Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Webster and Jody Harmon. The dinner will be 5:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at RiverMill Event Centre, Columbus.
The Infantry Association will host the Doughboy Award dinner at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the National Infantry Museum. The cost to attend is $50 per person.
The Doughboy Award is presented each year to recognize individuals for outstanding contributions to the Infantry. This year's recipients are retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Mellinger and actor Gary Sinise.
In addition to presentations and awards dinners, defense industry contractors will display products on York Field Sept. 15-17.
For those who can't attend the conference in person, portions of the conference will be streamed online through Defense Collaboration Services.
The url is https://conference.apps.mil/webconf/ManeuverWarfighterConference.
A complete schedule of the conference, as well as links for viewing online, is available at www.benning.army.mil/mcoe/maneuverconference/.
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