HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. - An annual event that allows interaction between government, industry and academia, New Horizons will take place March 14 and 15 at the Marriott Hotel in Newton, Massachusetts.
Sponsored by the Lexington-Concord Chapter of the Armed Force Communications and Electronics Association, New Horizons will feature Lt. Gen. John Thompson, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center commander, as the keynote speaker on March 15. Also presenting are the program executive officers from Hanscom: Battle Management PEO Steve Wert; the PEO for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks, Maj. Gen. Dwyer Dennis; and Col. Al LaPuma, PEO for Nuclear Command, Control and Communications.
According to organizers, the presenters will provide a broad regional look at near-term opportunities. As in previous years, the event provides a chance for participants to hear directly from Hanscom’s PEOs about ongoing and upcoming work.
“Hanscom has a large and diverse workforce and hundreds of programs. New Horizons is a natural venue for industry to get an overview of opportunities,” said Dr. Tim Rudolph, AFLCMC chief technology officer. “The value of New Horizons to the organic military and civilian workforce is to see the big picture. How organizations are defined and what functions they perform, acquisition or otherwise, is valuable to solve problems.”
Also as part of the event, there will be a panel addressing the timely topic of “Cybersecurity, Complex Systems, and Strategies for Securing the Internet of Things.”
Other government participants include the PEO for Business and Enterprise Systems, the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (East), also known as DIUx, Air Force Research Laboratory and General Services Administration.
Rudolph highlighted the opportunity for Hanscom personnel to interact at the event.
“In addition to seeing the big picture, personnel will get to meet industry solution providers ranging the spectrum in size and approaches to innovation,” he said.
For active duty military and government civilians there is no cost to attend. For Hanscom’s civilian and military attendees in acquisition-coded positions, there is also an opportunity to earn continuous learning points for time spent at the event up to a maximum of four points per day.
Organizers say they anticipate a large response, so they recommend registering early. Personnel can register on the chapter’s website at www.afceaboston.com. Additional information, such as costs for industry participation and a tentative agenda, can also be found on the website. Telephone registrations will not be accepted.
Following the close-out of New Horizons mid-day on March 15, there will be an AFLCMC Government Small Business panel beginning at 2 p.m. Representatives from Hanscom’s Small Business Office, Contracting Office, Battle Management Directorate, C3I&N Directorate and NC3 Integration Directorate plan to participate. There will also be a representative from the Small Business Administration. Information on this event will be posted on the FedBizOpps website at www.fbo.gov.
For additional information about New Horizons, contact Claire Goulet at cvgoulet@gmail.com.