AFA Air & Space Conference comes to AF.mil

By Airman 1st Class Alexander W. Riedel, Air Force News Service

 FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) -- A new iteration of the Air Force Association’s annual Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition is set to take place Sept. 16-18 at National Harbor, Md.

The conference is designed to bring together Air Force leaders, defense industry experts, academia and specialists from around the world to discuss the issues and challenges facing the Unites States and the aerospace community today.

The Defense Media Activity and www.af.mil will bring coverage of the conference’s most important events right to your computer screen, by live-streaming events on the Air Force Events page and the Pentagon Channel, as well as through news, print and photos of the days' events.
Select conference presentations are to be streamed live, to include Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning’s Monday delivery of the Air Force’s "State of the Force" address, followed Sept. 17 by Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh III, who will give an update on the Air Force's direction today and in the future. Finally, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody will speak on critical issues from the perspective of the enlisted force Sept. 18.

The tentative dates and times for all live events and speakers are (Editor’s note: No video will be available until the scheduled event times):

Sept. 16
10:35 a.m. - Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning delivers the "State of the Air Force" address
1:55 p.m. - Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, the commander, Air Force Materiel Command, gives her view on “Sustaining the Force”  
Sept. 17
11 a.m. - Gen. William L. Shelton, the commander, Air Force Space Command, speaks on “Integrating Air, Space and Cyberspace capabilities”
1:15 p.m. - Gen. Mark Welsh III, the chief of staff of the Air Force, provides the “Air Force Update”
3:25 p.m. - Panel discussion with the Honorable James Roche, the Honorable Michael Wynne and the Honorable Whitten Peters: “Managing an Air Force”
4:20 p.m - Gen. Mike Hostage, the commander Air Combat Command, speaks on “Combat Air Force in the 2020s”

Sept. 18
9 a.m. - Keynote speech by Admiral James Winnefield, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
10:55 a.m. - Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody provides the “Enlisted Perspective”
14:25 p.m. - Gen. Herbert Carlisle speaks on “Viewing the Asia Pacific Rebalance through the lens of the Pacific Air Forces”

Official Air Force participation at the conference has been approved, according to an AFA press release, and all military members on active duty and Defense Department civilian personnel are invited to attend the conference free of charge. Additionally, the exhibit hall is free and open to the public with valid registration.