Warfighter Seminar

Join us during JETC 2024 for the Warfighter Seminar. These sessions will host interactions and partnerships between industry and government and will discuss and resolve current Engineer challenges. Details on the schedule and seminars are provided below.

Schedule

Seminar #1: Use of Existing Authorities to "Set the Theater" for Current and Future Conflicts

The United States is faced with nearly every level of conflict from counterinsurgency to full strategic “peer” competition. These include US-China strategic competition in INDOPACOM; Containing full scale regional warfare in EUCOM (Russia-Ukraine & Israel-Hamas); Counterinsurgency and SLOC (Yemen) protection in AFRICOM; Narco-State actors and Immigration in SOUTHCOM; Immigration and heightened threat of terrorist actions in NORTHCOM; Iran Regional Insurgency in CENTCOM; SLOC protection and access to the Polar Regions; and the Militarization of Space. Congress and Federal Leaders have recognized the threat and have enacted authorizations that can be used to leverage the industrial base to support the Combatant Commander’s “Set the Theater” priorities. This seminar intends to address the potential and limits of these authorizations; along with the recognition and management of risk between the US Government and Industry; Develop a strawman acquisition strategy/methodology for use in high risk environments. 

Learning Objectives

• Understand the existing and new authorities and how they are to be implemented, specifically 2024 NDAA Sec. 2801 and 2024 NDAA Sec. 2808.
• Learn the types of projects desired by the COCOMs and what can Industry provide to meet the need within the authorized limits.
• Discuss actions/steps that can be taken to minimize “Contractor Fratricide” where limited resources in a region are stressed by multiple contractors and requirements.
• Analyze how the government and industry view risk and what alternatives can be added to an acquisition strategy that fairly distributes risk using a hybrid contract structure.
• Learn about the appropriate standards to be used.
• Understand the types of Treaties in Force and Country Agreements and the basic protections they may or may not provide.

Moderator: Rear Adm. Chuck Kubic, P.E., F.SAME, USN (Ret.), Kubic Engineer Group
Co-Leader: Col. Matthew Beverly, USAF, JTF NCR Liaison Officer
Co-Leader: Lt. Col. Rick Sloop, USAF (Ret.), Fluor Mission Solutions

Panelists (subject to change)

Capt. Chris Coggins, CEC, USN, INDOPACOM J44
Dominic Sparacio, P.E., Joint Staff J-4
Capt. Joe Harder, P.E., CEC, USN, HQ, NAVFAC
Col. Law, CENTCOM J47
Maj. Michael Spencer, USAF, CENTCOM J47
William Valenti, AFCEC/CXA
Doug Hill, KBR
Mark Collins, V2X
Mike Shelton, ISOA/Planate
Capt. John Beattie, CEC, USN, COMPACTFLT N46
Cindy Readal, SES, NAVFAC SYSCOM
Dominic Sparacio, P.E., Engineer Capabilities & Doctrine, JSD for Logistics J45
James Garred, 772 ESS/PKD
Robert Mellerski, AFCEC/CXA
Seth Cutler, AUSD (A&S)/OSD (EI&E)
Linda Specht, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Department of State
Col. Robert Nicholson, USA (Ret.), KBR
Maj. Gen. Steve Shapiro, USA (Ret.), Vectrus
David Bluestein, ECC

Seminar #2: Cyber/Physical Attack to an Operational Asset in a Forward Deployed Location

National defense strategies have noted that the homeland is no longer a sanctuary. The United States is a target, whether from terrorists seeking to attack our citizens; malicious cyber activity against civilian, commercial, or government infrastructure; or political misinformation and disinformation. Increasing digital connectivity in all aspects of life, business, government, and military operations creates significant vulnerabilities from Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) posed by bad actors motivated by geopolitical goals, monetary gain, or sowing chaos.

Recent national headlines on warnings from our country’s leaders responsible for protecting our nation from global cyber threats highlighted China’s successful action to imbed malware into the national infrastructure (power, water, oil/gas, communications) we rely on for our nation’s security and livelihood. Congress noted that “This is not just a government problem. This is a whole of society problem…a strategic threat pointed at the heart of America, and if we do not address this threat, then the Chinese will have the ability to turn off the lights for everyday Americans, shut down entire cities, and cause a massive loss of American lives.” During conflict, attacks against our critical defense, government, and economic infrastructure must be anticipated and mitigated. Federal engineers must be prepared to understand this threat and mitigate risk.

Using a designed scenario specifically targeting a mission essential life-safety system at a notional military asset to deny a national security mission, the panel will discuss the processes and protocols needed by military engineers to meet federal guidance to quickly identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover from a cyber-physical attack. The scenario will highlight the operational technology mapping requirements for national security critical assets required by Congress via Sec 1505 of the National Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.

The discussion will focus on roles and responsibilities of military, industry, and contractor stakeholders needed to mitigate the risk and impact of a cyber-attack - spanning from building design through continuous facility operations. The seminar will review techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to immediately respond to and recover from essential mission functions. The scenario includes input from building controls system manufacturers, supply chain specialists, facility designers, facility operators, and cybersecurity experts, providing engineers unique insights and a comprehensive understanding of the risks.

Learning Objectives

• Review processes to identify critical systems and cyber vulnerabilities within the DOD critical assets.
• Identify proactive measures to protect critical systems and mitigate risk of a cyber-physical attack.
• Present methods to detect and confirm the origin and method of a cyber-attack and damage assessment.
• Assess options, probabilities, and timing for the recovery missional essential system.
• Identify programs to share information within the national security command structure on the incident.

Moderator: Lucian Niemeyer, CEO, Building Cyber Security
Co-Leader: Brian May, Senior Vice President - Air Force Market Lead, Michael Baker International
Co-Leader: Daryl Haegley, SL, GICSP, OCP Department of the Air Force Technical Director, DAF Control Systems Cyber Resiliency
Co-Leader: David Forbes, Principal, Booz | Allen | Hamilton 
Panelists (subject to change)
Jason Hall, Booz | Allen | Hamilton
Mark McCoy, Booz | Allen | Hamilton
Stacey Shepard, Shepard Global Strategies