On March 8, 2012 we proudly welcome Mr. Bill Lasher, Army Forces Command G-6. Registration is free to the first 60 guests on our monthly luncheon page!

Bill Lasher was appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) on June 20, 2010.  As the DCS, G-6, he provides vision, direction, oversight and management of the FORSCOM, DCS, G-6, with general staff responsibility for directing and supervising tactical Information Technology (IT) readiness of FORSCOM units as well as training and readiness of FORSCOM’s Signal units.  He also oversees IT services provided to Headquarters, FORSCOM.  Prior to his selection into the SES, he served as Chief, Network Services Division, FORSCOM G-6, which provided network and information services to Headquarters, FORSCOM, and Forts McPherson and Gillem.  He was responsible for the planning and preparation of the movement of FORSCOM’s IT services and infrastructure in support of the Headquarters’ move to Fort Bragg, NC.

Mr Lasher -Official Bio 2011

Fort Bragg, North Carolina:  Mr. Richard Allenbaugh, Director of the Ground Intelligence Support Activity (GISA)-Bragg, outlined LandISRNet, and the future of tactical and strategic intelligence for Army forces during the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) monthly luncheon at The Fort Bragg Club, Thursday, February 9.

Allenbaugh, a former Army officer and now DoD civilian, spoke on the past, present and future of tactical and strategic intelligence. He outlined that the Army intelligence must support all six phases of joint operations to include phase 0 (Shape Operations) and 4-phases of Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN).  He discussed the intelligence process and access to essential information, the need for flexible, mobile and secure applications, and outlined how the intelligence community, especially within the Army, is set to change the way it gathers, processes, disseminates and acts on real-time intelligence.  The Army intelligence system is Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A) that transforms to a cloud arhitecure for ease of data access.

Allenbaugh further iterated Army intelligence capabilities moving to virtualization, consolidating data centers and focusing more on mobile application development and employment, that the intelligence soldiers of tomorrow will have incredible technology expectations. “But in the end, it’s about how we can improve combat readiness, send fewer people forward over time and still remain effective,” Allenbaugh said.

While technological advances in the intelligence realm present great opportunities for future intelligence warriors, Allenbaugh said the key challenge remains in establishing secure, fixed and mobile communications at the last tactical mile. “It’s a question of how we get that information from an MI soldier that could be in a direct supporting role stateside to that soldier in the field,” Allenbaugh said. “It’s a question of how we reduce complexity, the exploit technology for advanced analytics on a common framework to ensure the soldier in the field can act on credible intelligence in a faster manner.

Allenbaugh then outlined the footprint and potential design of the LandISRNet architecture. LandISRNet, has many stakeholders throughout the Army to include US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), Army Component Commands and the US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).  The goal for LandISRNet is to  focus on stronger analytics for Army soldiers and synchronization of all of the data sources for all phases of military operations .

“But in the end, regardless of the technology, it’s all about people,” Allenbaugh said. “We owe it to our future warfighters to give them the best tools possible to enable the mission success.”

Come join us on Thursday, 09 Feb 2012 from 11:30 – 1:00 at the Ft Bragg Club as Mr. Richard Allenbaugh, Director of the Ground Intelligence Support Activity (GISA) discusses the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) layout for
the future Army. Discussion topics include Relevant ISR to the Edge, DCGS-A Cloud, and LandISRNet in support of LandWarNet operations

AFCEA Flyer Feb Luncheon – Mr. Allenbaugh

Mr Allenbaugh Biography

Automated registration for Luncheon events is coming soon!

Mr. Nicholas Nilan, Associate Director for Verizon Wireless, spoke about 4G LTE wireless technology use in government at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) monthly luncheon at The Fort Bragg Club, Thursday, January 12.

A capacity crowd flooded the Iron Mike Room at the Fort Bragg Club to hear Nilan discuss the future of 4G LTE wireless technologies and its implementation for various applications for federal government users. Nilan set the tone by recounting the past and present of wireless technology. He then set the stage for the future of wireless, 4G LTE, and discussed the potential and challenges this technology holds for consumers in both public and private sectors.

Nilan cited various examples of how 4G wireless technology is being used today in government-based applications such as video monitoring and surveillance, telemetry reporting, video conferencing and collaboration as well as large data file sharing and consumption. He further discussed key verticals, such as healthcare and manufacturing, which have latched on the technology and are seeing cost savings and significant ROI returns. He further explained the role reversal that has occurred between government and private industry.

“It used to be that government and military were drivers of technology and its use,” Nilan said. “They were the early adopters of technology, which later filtered to civilians. Now we’re seeing a fundamental shift in that model. Now consumers are driving technology adoption, such as 4G wireless, and government is struggling to catch up.”

Nilan stressed the importance of government, especially the military, to consider the positive impact mobility, especially the advent of 4G, can have on both uniformed and civilian workforce. He said they must embrace the technology faster, and can do so without compromising federal government’s most fundamental element: security. Nilan said in an era where budgets are tightening and resources are fewer, the need for government to spearhead mobility technology adoption is paramount.

The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) is an international nonprofit association providing a forum for the professional communications, electronics, intelligence and information systems community. The association serves as an ethical bridge between government requirements and industry’s capabilities, representing the top government, industry and military professionals. For more information visit www.afcea.org.

AFCEA Luncheon Nicholas Nilan

Hello everyone!

We have realized a need to modernize and condense our website into one platform that will enable us to better manage our announcements, information, communication, content, and documentation. We will be adding our social media presence very soon so keep checking back with us!

You may notice some pages are empty but don’t worry! Those pages will be updated shortly as we work out the kinks in our newfound system!

Our new site is iPad ready – we are simply working through a speed bump here and there. In the future we will also have an AFCEA-NC iPhone app in the Apple App store so you can keep up with the latest news from AFCEA NC!

As for our new features, notice the feature slider on the homepage – this highlights some of our significant recent events, and will be used to highlight important events in the future! Don’t be alarmed at the size or quality of the pictures in the slider. Those are temporary until we can get the full sized high-quality pictures uploaded to the site.

You’ll also notice several twitter feeds of popular accounts under this slider. We are a firm believer in mobile communications and promote it accordingly!

Below the twitter feeds you’ll see our blog section; also available on the “Announcements” page. The feature slider on top pulls from certain blog posts we have selected, so don’t be alarmed if you see duplicate information.

As for function, we are testing and partially implementing an online registration system that will be able to take payments within the website. In the future it will also have a ticketing function built in which will also act as your name tag during milestone events. It will also allow you to donate money via paypal (and possibly debit) to the organization no matter if it’s only $1 or $100. Your donations are what allows us to give scholarships to very deserving young men and women! YOU make it happen!

If you notice any problems with the website please use the contact form to send us a message!

January 12, 2012

We are pleased to announce the first membership luncheon of 2012!

The luncheon will be held at the Ft. Bragg Club at 11:30 on January 12, 2012. To show our appreciation for your support the North Carolina Chapter will be providing lunch free of charge, but we have a limit of 60 attendees so it is important that you reserve your seat early. During this meeting we will be sharing some of our 2012 plans for the North Carolina Chapter .

Our guest speaker will be Mr. Nicholas Nilan, Associate Director with Verizon Wireless of Laurel Md. Mr. Nilan will be sharing information about 4G LTE. He has supported the Department of Defense on cellular wireless networking solutions including smartphone and tablet deployment, cellular private network integration, and machine to machine tracking and monitoring solutions. Previously, he led Verizon Wireless marketing efforts to Federal Government and Fortune 500 customers and before that audited internal customer service standards for VzW Federal Government customers. He has been in the wireless industry for over 9 years and holds an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Regis University and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from York College of Pennsylvania.

Please RSVP by emailing AFCEA4NC@aol.com, or by calling Vicki Voyles at 910-322-3796.

Dr. John S. Morgan, command science adviser for the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command (USASOC), addressed the chapter at its monthly luncheon at the Fort Bragg Club in July, 2011.

Morgan advises the command on matters relating to science and technology across all components, directorates and commodity areas.

Morgan compared his experience with USASOC to his previous experiences working as adviser to law enforcement. He shared insight on where the command was today with technology implementation, provided a vision of where the command was headed, and asked for better partnering between the military and private industry.

In September 2011, Bill Marion, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of the U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command and President of the AFCEA Tidewater Chapter, gave a keynote speech about the Air Force efforts to migrate toward a unified communications (UC) environment.

Marion is responsible for providing senior technical guidance on architectures and strategic planning for nearly 15,000 communications professionals and information technology specialists. This extends further to approximately 100,000 active-duty military and civilian members across 30 major installations in the United States and overseas. Marion is based at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.

Marion is a strong advocate and visionary for the promise of Unified Capabilities (UC). During his presentation, he elaborated on four specific change drivers, mission drivers, and architectures. He stressed the need for vendors to become active partners in helping shape the future of UC for the military in general. He expressed concerns that lack of multivendor environments may hamper innovation efforts in this area, but he remained confident of reaching the end vision state in the very near future.

Bill Marion can be found on Twitter at: @acc_cto

In August, 2011, T. Brock Winslow, Vice Chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM), provided the keynote address discussing the continued need for programs such as Science Teaching Tools Awards.

Winslow, a graduate of the school located in Durham, North Carolina, stressed the need to foster interest in science and math at the grassroots level. Nearly 30 students from Cumberland County (home to Fort Bragg and the Chapter) attend the school currently.

“Programs like AFCEA’s Science Teaching Tools help teachers build that desire for science and math in kids,” Winslow remarked. “Perhaps the next batch applying to come to the school will be as a result of this partnership between local schools and groups like AFCEA.”

Winslow noted that graduates of NCSSM provide more than $500 million in annual economic growth to the state of North Carolina.

The Science Teaching Tools program is a joint effort between AFCEA chapters located across the country and the AFCEA Educational Foundation. It promotes to effective science teaching and enhances the abilities of capable science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers in K-12 schools worldwide.

The AFCEA Educational Foundation provides $1,000 to participating chapters, which then select one or more elementary, middle or high school STEM teachers (or the international equivalent) for the purpose of augmenting STEM activities for their students.

Awards are not limited to public institutions, and many chapters match or exceed the foundation’s grants. Donations from Booz Allen Hamilton, Terremark Worldwide Incorporated and AFCEA International make the grants possible.

This year, the chapter gave more than $20,000 to 18 local schools to support science and technology education. Recipients included Benjamin Martin Elementary School, which was destroyed in a tornado that struck Fayetteville, North Carolina, on April 16, 2011. The scholarship donation helped the school re-establish its science teaching tools area.

Teachers receiving the awards were overwhelmed by the generosity and philanthropy of AFCEA. “We thank you for honoring us in this way,” one teacher said. “This is truly a gift—no, a blessing. To have the ability to make science come alive for our students through your generous donation inspires us to do more, be more, for our students, and continue to drive their excellence in math and science.”