SOF Symposium

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December 9-10, 2020 | Chester H. Ferguson Law Center, Tampa, FL 

Defense Strategies Institute’s 9th Annual SOF and Worldwide Operations Symposium provides members within the Special Operations community, regional combatant commands, Department of State, U.S AID, academia, industry, and other critical partners an open ‘Town Hall’ forum that serves as a conduit for information exchange, idea generation, and open dialogue in order to support strategic priorities and operational needs required to meet national goals.

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Current Health and Safety Protocols

 

2020 Scheduled Speakers Include:
  • Joseph Francescon, SES
  • (DASD) for Special Operations and Combatting Terrorism (SOCT), OUSD(P)
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  • Dr. Isaiah Wilson
  • President
  • Joint Special Operations University
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  • RADM Frank M. Bradley, USN
  • Commander
  • SOCCENT
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  • BG Johnny K. Davis, USA
  • Chief of Staff
  • Army Futures Command
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  • Mr. Robert Faucher
  • SFS Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations
  • U.S. State Department
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  • Col Allison Black, USAF
  • Vice Commander
  • 24th SOW, AFSOC
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  • CAPT Christian Dunbar, USN
  • Director, N9 Future Concepts and Innovation 
  • NSWC
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Panel Discussion:  __________________________________________
  • Panel Moderator: Mr. Howard Strahan, Deputy Director, SOF AT&L S&T
  • COL Paul Weizer, PEO SOF Digital Applications
  • Mr. David Breede, PEO Special Reconnaissance
  • COL Joel Babbitt, PEO SOF Warrior
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Advisory Board Member:

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  • RADM Ed Winters, USN (Ret). 
  • Senior Advisor
  • DSI SOF and Worldwide Operations Symposium
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Download the Agenda for Complete List of Speakers

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Why You Should Attend This Symposium:

This cross sector Symposium will serve as a catalyst for collaboration and the interchange of knowledge and ideas across the Special Operations community, leaders of regional combatant commands, The Department of State and U.S. AID, the Intelligence Community, academia, and industry.
This ‘Town Hall’ open forum will focus on strategic and operational capabilities for recalibrating and expanding the utility of SOF in pursuit of gaining decisive competitive advantage against peer / near peer competitors that supports our National Defense Strategy.
It will delve into areas of innovations such as applying AI / ML and advanced data driven capabilities across the SOF spectrum for improving capabilities to gain influence and narrative control in the Information Space to supporting recruitment and training.
Equally important will be the focus on efforts to strengthen a Whole of Government strategic and operational approach to fostering stability through increasing local and nation partners’ abilities for development and resilience.
By facilitating two days of structured content in an open ‘Town Hall’ type forum, the Symposium will provide the SOF community and stakeholders an opportunity to engage in information exchange, inform industry of important initiatives and gain feedback to best support the US Government’s mission and goals, and to generate collaboration across expertise to support the SOF community. _______________________________________________________________________
At our Symposium You Have the Ability To:
  • Gain Education & Insight: Walk away with knowledge gained from our senior level speakers on some of the complex challenges facing the Special Operations community.
 
  • Build Partnerships: The agenda is designed to allow for ample networking opportunities and the ability to engage in constructive dialogue among all in attendance.
 
  • Influence: Help foster ideas! Share your own insight and knowledge during our interactive sessions. All attendees are encouraged to address our speaker faculty and each other with their questions, comments or ideas.
______________________________________________________________ *Symposium is CLOSED TO PRESS / NO RECORDINGS*

Topics to be covered at the 2020 Symposium:

- Recalibrating and expanding the utility of SOF in pursuit of decisive competitive advantage against peer / near peer competitors in current and future operating environments

- How the confluence of information technology and innovation (AL/ ML, cyber operations, and big data) affect SOF priorities

- Applying AI / ML and advanced data driven capabilities across the SOF spectrum to gain a competitive edge: from developing a Hyper-Enabled Operator to supporting Maritime Maneuver, Intelligence, and Effects

- Competing for influence and narrative control in the Information Space

- Understanding the interconnected nature of SOF CVE activities and great power competition

- Gray Zone coercive strategies of peer competitors that Challenge SOF

- Increasing the speed of relevance for the analysis and dissemination of CT intelligence across agency boundaries and to the tactical edge

- What skills and capabilities will the future SOF Operator need and how can data analytics strengthen the recruitment and training process?

-Technical priorities to support near term operations: from counter-UAS, maintaining interoperability, and countering threats posed in the maritime domain, to increasing influence in the regional information space to control the narrative

-JAIC / JCF and what COCOM and supporting contractors need to do to ready their data and systems

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Exhibit & Sponsorship Information:
The 2020 SOF & Worldwide Operations Symposium provides opportunities including exhibit space, tech talks, product demonstrations, and networking sponsorships.
 

Download the Sponsorship and Exhibiting Prospectus

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Operating Guidance for Government Attendees:
 

DSI’s Symposium directly supports DoD and Federal Government priorities by providing a conduit for officials to efficiently reach audiences outside of their respective offices that directly impact their department's mission success, at no charge to the government, and in an efficient expenditure of time.

DSI’s Symposium will provide a forum to address and improve internal and external initiatives, meet with and hear from partner organizations, disseminate vital capability requirements to industry, increase visibility within the larger community, and generally support their mission.

The Symposium is open and complimentary to all DoD and Federal employees and is considered an educational and training forum.

(Industry and academia members are charged a fee for admission)

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2019 Participating Organization's:
1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), 5th Special Forces Group, AEi International, ARMA Global, ARMDEC, Asymmetric Warfare Group, Augustine Consulting, Inc. (ACI), Axnes, Inc., BAE Systems, Ball Aerospace, Batelle Memorial Institute, BKM Global, Cambridge International Systems, Inc, CNA, Cassidy & Associates, CENTCOM J5-SC, CRFS Inc., Culmen International, DARPA, Deloitte, Department of Navy (ONI), DTRA/JIDO, Dynamic Aviation, Embassy of Latvia, Envistacom, Erickson Incorporated, Figure Eight, General Atomics Aeronautical, Global Engagement Center, U.S. Department of State, Honeywell Aerospace, Horizon Performance, IBM, ICE, Inc., Innovative Communications & Strategies LLC , JIDO, JSOC Center for Counterterrorism Studies, LIS Solutions, Lockheed Martin, LORD Corporation, LVA SOCOM, Marine Corps Intelligence Activity, MarkLogic Corporations, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mission Command Center of Excellence, MIT Security Studies Program, Motorola Solutions, Inc, Near East Center for Strategic Engagement (NEC-SE), Northrop Grumman, Novetta, NSHQ, OSD (SO/LIC), PAE ISR, Palantir, PEO Missles & Space, PKSOI, QRC Technologies, Radix Engineering & Software, Roka Security, Sabra Global Services, SOCCENT J23, SOF AT&L, Special Forces Underwater Operations, Spectrum Group/Figure Eight, SSU, Inc., TGBA, Inc., The MITRE Corporation, Trenchant Analytics LLC, UltiSat, Inc., Ultra-Technical Communication Systems, University of Maryland University College, USAID, Office of Civilian Military Cooperation, USASOC G-2, USSOCOM, Xator Corporation ________________________________________________________________________________________

DSI is Proud to Support the Special Operations

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