LandWarNet to Feature Interoperability Program

The growing importance of information technology to military operations, particularly those conducted by the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, is evident by the record number of exhibitors and registrants signed up for this year’s LandWarNet Conference, which is presented by AFCEA International.

A total of 368 exhibitors will be manning booths and exhibits at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale this year, compared to 301 exhibitors last year.

Those exhibitors will also see more people walking the floor and attending the conference sessions. Just a few days prior to the opening of the show on Monday, Aug. 18, approximately 2,900 people had already registered to attend, a figure that will rise to about 5,100 people when exhibitors, media and other guests are included. That compares favorably to the 2007 iteration of LandWarNet, when paid registration closed out at about 2,500 people and 4,892 total attendees.

The theme of this year’s event is “Providing and Enabling Joint Generating/Operating Force Network Capabilities," and, as such, a number of high-ranking military officers will be making presentations with purple content. Speakers will include: Gen. George Casey Jr., Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; Gen. Kevin Chilton, Commander, U.S. Strategic Command; Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, U.S. Army CIO/G6; Rear Adm. Elizabeth Hight, Vice Director, Defense Information Systems Agency; and Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, Director, Army Capabilities Integration Center. 

LandWarNet is considered the annual training event for Army IT professionals, according to Tobey Jackson, public relations manager for AFCEA International. As such, all qualified attendees are eligible to receive continuous learning points for attending the conference.

“The amount of professional development events going on, and the fact that active duty personnel can get continuous learning points makes LandWarNet one of the most important events in the Army calendar,” said Jackson. “The caliber of the track topics is superb, and we’ve got the top people in the field to address these topics.”