Tuesday's Symposium Sessions – Inside the EMS Enterprise

Today marks the busiest day of the 56th Annual AOC International Symposium and Convention

At 10 a.m., the Ops Symposium track will discuss "The Demand Signal for the EMS Workforce." The skillsets we developed in the past for EW, SIGINT and spectrum management are not likely to be the same skillsets we need for EMS operations in the future. What do these new skillsets look like, and how many people will we need in these new roles? This discussion will be led by Session Chair Mr. Tom Taylor, GS15, EMS Policy & International Engagement, DoD CIO, and will feature Captain Brian “Hinks” Hinkley, USN (Ret), Vice President for EMS Strategic Operations, AECOM, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew J. Glass, USAF, EMS Policy & Programs, DoD CIO, Commander Shelly Frank, USN, Military Faculty at Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University, and Ms. Angela Lane, Deputy Chief, Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Information Analysis and Fusion, Joint Electronic Warfare Center.

Also at 10 a.m., the Tech Symposium track will provide a "High Energy Weapons Update." This session, led by Mr. Mark W. Neice, Executive Director, Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS), will look at the state of directed energy technologies and programs as they make the transition from science and technology development to systems acquisition. Because of the effects that directed energy systems can generate against adversary and friendly systems in the battlespace, there is a lot more to this discussion than just technology development. Panelists Dr. Kelly D. Hammett, SES, Director, Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Dr. Frank E. Peterkin, SES, Distinguished Scientist/Engineer for Directed Energy Naval Surface Warfare Center, Office of Naval Research (ONR), and Dr. Lawrence Grimes, Director, HEL Joint Transition Office will provide valuable insight.

After lunch in the exhibit hall, the Ops Symposium track will continue with "Mechanics of Great Power Competition," led by Mr. Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow, CSBA, and discussion from panelists Lieutenant Colonel David Mueller, USMC, OSD EMS Operations Cross Functional Team (EMSO CFT), Captain Ken "Kilo" Parks, USN (Ret), former Commanding Officer Fleet Information Warfare Command (FICW), Principal Business Development, L3Harris Corp, and John D. Evans, Ph.D., CEO, Carillo. In modern warfare, maneuver in the EMS underpins maneuver in all of the other major warfighting domains. Questions to consider: Are we organized for this reality? Do our potential adversaries understand this? Do we have the campaign-level models that we need to help us understand what Great Power Competition will look like in the EMS?

Also in the afternoon, the Tech Symposium continues with a session on "Managing the Electromagnetic Battle." Led by Dr. John A. Stine, Head of Operations Research, MITRE, this session will explore a new but vital area for EMS operations – Electromagnetic Battle Management (EMBM). Session presenters Mr. Alan Rosner, GS15, DISA/DSO, Mr. Christopher McConnell, Civ, Staff Synchronization Officer (SSO): Electronic Warfare, Force Development Intelligence (FDI), DCS G-8, Pentagon, and Mr. Jose Perez, Maj, USMC (Ret), Senior Technical Manager for Electromagnetic Warfare, Aviation Systems, Torch Technologies, will discuss what's driving the need for EMBM and how the DOD is addressing a wide range of EMBM requirements.

At 2:15 p.m., Colonel Ivan Pavlenko, Deputy Chief of Combat Support Units of the Joint Forces HQ of the Joint Staff Armed Forces of Ukraine, will deliver a briefing on "Application of Electronic Warfare on the East of Ukraine: 2018-2019 Experience." Over the past few years, Ukrainian officials have described in great detail how Russian forces are employing EW and SIGINT on the battlefield in Eastern Ukraine. This talk will provide an update on the situation, as well as Ukrainian EW initiatives and lessons learned