The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) is a non-profit international organization that works to bring together government and business to make the world a safer place through the use of communications and information systems. Their objective is to ‘promote technology, networking and knowledge solutions that allow and secure the mission of our warfighters and government customers.’
Members of AFCEA come from the government, military, defense industries, and academia, among other places. They offer several conferences and seminars, as well as networking opportunities, to assist in bringing all members together to discuss and develop answers for the difficulties of National Security.
Exploiting the Events of 2020 (E20) is one of the most popular conferences held by the AFCEA each year. It is the biggest event of its type and is centered on elopement networking for military, government, and industry groups. It brings together the stakeholders in creating, building and sustaining cyberspace platforms for National Security. The event’s main themes are exploring strategic partnerships, sharing knowledge, and developing innovative solutions. This conference is held in a different city each year, in the spring or fall, with the most recent one taking place in National Harbor, Maryland in October 2020. Key speakers at past events have included U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, retired Army brigadier-general Todd Semonite, Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Defense Shon Manasco.
The International Intelligence (I2) Summit is another event organized by AFCEA that is focused on intelligence professionals. It purpose is to provide excellent resources, networking opportunities, and training for those in the field. The I2 Summit provides attendees with education and share their experiences to help advance their sector. It has become the biggest of its type and the event has been held in Washington, D.C. since 2017. Some of the former speakers include the National Security Agency Director General Paul Nakasone, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer, and Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation David Bowdich.
The Cyber Symposium is also a popular event that AFCEA puts on every year that focuses on all aspects of cybersecurity. There are various seminars and workshops for attendees to gain valuable insight into the latest trends and techniques being used to protect cyberspace platforms. It is normally hosted in the spring in Baltimore, Maryland, and showcases various keynote speakers. Notable keynote speakers in the past have included the National Security Agency Deputy Director Marilyn Thomas, Former U.S. Cyber Command Deputy Commander Air Force Lt. Gen. George Glaser, and Deputy Director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center Robert Kolasky.
Overall, AFCEA’s events, conferences, and seminars offer valuable resources, networking, and industry awareness for all stakeholders involved in national security. Not only that, but the events have also been successful at bringing together the government, military, defense industries, and academia to help promote technical and professional knowledge that can be used to advance the mission of our warfighters and government customers.