AFCEA Awards Interoperability Innovation

AFCEA International awarded a total of $2,250 to three teams competing in the PlugFest contest, providing innovative solutions to interoperability problems. The contest was conducted and the awards handed out during TechNet Augusta 2014.

The winning teams are: third place ($500), The iTeam, represented by Paul Neyman, Maj. Nolan Barco, USA, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christyan Garcia, USA; second place ($750), Team Jammer, represented by Brandon Dobler, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Wilberto Maldonado, USA, Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Drayton, USA, and Sandy Schoen; and first place ($1,000), Team Network Mashers, represented by Maj. Mike Jones, USA, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sarah Rees, USA. CW2 Rees also received individual recognition for her innovation.

“One of the purposes of PlugFest is to have a positive impact on the acquisition process by demonstrating that solutions can be rapidly developed by industry to include the government and academia,” said Col. Mike Warlick, USMC (Ret.), vice president, defense operations, AFCEA International.

The PlugFest contest is a demonstration of information technology interoperability using pre-integrated standards based components, from a variety of providers, which run in open standards based run-time environments across a particular enterprise. This week’s contest challenged the teams to provide a network with a cyber and electronic warfare common operational picture so the commander can understand in real time what is happening and posture forces to proactively mitigate or defeat impending threats and seize key cyberterrain.

The tasks included kinetic, electronic and cyber attack decisions. The battlespace included Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California, sea port of debarkation Avalon Bay and aerial port of debarkation, Catalina Airport.