The chapter convened government, military and industry leaders in March for its latest luncheon, "Hardening the DOW's Operational Technology," bringing focused attention to securing operational technology (OT) in support of mission resilience. The event featured keynote remarks from John Garstka, director of Cyber Warfare, Office of the Assistant Secretary of War, followed by a panel of senior cyber warfare leaders. The discussion highlighted the convergence of cyber, physical infrastructure and warfighting capabilities across the Department of War.

The keynote portion of the program focused on cybersecurity of operational systems as a critical component of national defense, particularly as threats increasingly target systems that underpin both military and civilian operations. The discussion emphasized mitigating cyber risk to critical infrastructure by improving understanding of dependencies on commercial systems that support Department of War operations. Garstka also n … Read more

In February, the chapter hosted a Tabletop Cybersecurity Exercise facilitated by U.S. Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

The focus was on how to prepare, respond and recover from attacks that might come from many fronts. The event lasted through the afternoon and brought together approximately 60 participants, from federal, state and local governments, along with relevant industry. This is a highly anticipated activity that leads into the annual Homeland Security Conference.

The 2024 AFCEA DC Tech Summit, hosted on October 24 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, has earned widespread acclaim for its innovative agenda and in-depth exploration of critical cybersecurity issues. The event centered on the challenges and opportunities arising from intensified global power competition, showcasing groundbreaking advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), zero-trust architectures and the integration of emerging technologies within defense operations.

As cyber threats increasingly target the United States through influence campaigns, data breaches and attempts to penetrate government systems, the summit provided an essential platform for addressing these dangers. High-profile incidents like the SolarWinds hack and Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack underline the stakes involved, jeopardizing both national security and economic stability. Against this backdrop, the summit brought together leaders from government, military, academia and t … Read more

The chapter has announced its elected executive board for 2024-2025. Board members were carefully selected to uphold AFCEA values and to meet mission requirements through advancing information technology, communications and electronics capabilities.

Becci DeFrank, federal sector AI leader at NVIDIA, will serve as chapter president for the 2024-2025 term. She will be supported by Kevin Griffith, senior director of federal sales at Snowflake, who will serve as chapter executive vice president, and Theresa Pines, senior director of mission support sales for Asc3nd Technologies, who will take on the chapter's senior vice president role.

The chapter provides innovative programming that enables collaboration between military, government, industry and academia, aligning technology and strategy to meet mission requirements. The chapter largely focuses programming on the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence community and homeland security in the National Capital Region.
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In March, the chapter welcomed Capt. Benjamin Goff Jr. of the U.S. Coast Guard. Capt. Goff currently serves as the Business Operations Division chief of the C5I Service Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. C5I serves as a critical element of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security and stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, and Intelligence. The U.S. Coast Guard's C5I Service Center provides information and situation-awareness products and services, depot-level maintenance and repair services, resource transparency and total asset visibility for the U.S. Coast Guard.

Capt. Goff described the C5I Service Center's focus areas of sustaining U.S. Coast Guard support systems, implementing technology revolutions and ensuring the service center's success through various services, such as navigation, intelligence systems, communications systems, maritime transportation services, human resources and logistics resources.

The U.S. Coast als … Read more

In December, the chapter held the Awards Ceremony at the Minuteman Commons, Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB), Massachusetts, beginning with a warm welcome from Capt. Hansel Suharli, USAF, who emceed the event. The audience was honored with the presence of distinguished Air Force leaders, including Col. Taona Enriquez, Chief Master Sgt. Alan Weary, Col. Chad Forrest, Col. Riley Pyles, Maj. Gen. Anthony Genatempo, and Scott Hardiman, along with AFCEA members and guests.

The first award went to Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Martin of the Massachusetts National Guard for his exceptional coordination and strategic planning, making a significant impact on Homeland Defense and Civil Support missions.

Gen. Genatempo presented the next award to Christopher Keeshan for his vital contributions to the Modeling and Simulation Integrated Product Team working with the Boeing Virtual Warfare Center.

In the Digital Directorate, Daniel Craig's dedication to the 3D Expeditionary Long-Range … Read more

The chapter's Small Business Committee organized a breakfast event that showcased a presentation by Darlene Bullock, executive director of the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Bullock commenced her presentation by highlighting the DHS mission, emphasizing the commitment to safeguarding the American people, homeland and values with honor and integrity. She explored the operational and support components of the DHS, highlighting its status as the third-largest cabinet department, following the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Bullock continued and reviewed the connection between the DHS and the OSDBU, illustrating the relationship through a flow chart depicting key components such as the contracting activity office, OCPO Division, Direct Oversight, Indirect Oversight and HCA (Head of Contracting Activity).

Steps to doing business with the DHS begin with two distinct g … Read more

In August, Gary Sparks, program director, Metropolitan (METRO) Community College Cybersecurity Center, Omaha, Nebraska, spent time with the chapter discussing METRO's Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) efforts. Sparks pointed out that the CAE community consists of universities and community colleges nationwide working through Homeland Security and the National Security Agency to earn their CAE designation. Currently, 400 schools have CAE designation. It is common practice for CAE institutions to share their assignments, classes and best practices. Above all, this promotes ethical standards and standardized requirements for CAE certification. Sparks talked about providing the local community with support for grades K-12 through training and providing relatable content. Sparks commented that the local community often turns to educators to understand the cyber threats around them.

He elaborated on the CAE designation process and clarified that CAE begins after the program of st … Read more

In May, Ethan Cole, deputy regional director, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Region 7, Kansas City, Missouri, spent time with the chapter discussing the CISA role. Cole pointed out that CISA was formed in 2018 with an overall mission to lead the national effort to understand, manage and reduce risk to the nation's cyber and physical infrastructure. He clarified that CISA areas of responsibility mirror the Federal Emergency Management Agency's eight-region breakout. Cole covered CISA's core capabilities relating to critical infrastructure and talked about their four primary mission lines and how CISA is carrying out these missions. Cole talked about how they work out of integrated operations divisions and try to provide information and resources ahead of the curve before it is requested. With limited resources, focus remains on assessing to maximize current assets to stay effective. Cole concluded by emphasizing that CIS … Read more

In May, the chapter installed the chapter officers for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Tim Martin, regional vice president, led the ceremony and presented the AFCEA Chapter Flag to Col. Charles D. (Dean) Smith, USA, as the chapter president. Col. Smith thanked Col. Liz Casely, USA, the outgoing chapter president, for her leadership over the past year. Col. Smith previously served as the vice president for membership. Martin also presented the chapter with the Albert J. Myer Award for Individual Member Recruiting for the past year. Also, during this annual meeting, Morgan Zantua, executive director, City University of Seattle's Center for Cybersecurity Innovation, a National Security Agency/U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated Center of Academic Excellence, provided the keynote address to the more than 30 attendees.

In March, Dwight Deneal spoke to a sold-out crowd at the AFCEA NOVA Small Business Breakfast. Deneal is the director of the Office of Small Business Programs for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).

In his presentation, Deneal provided an overview of the small business program at the DLA and the upcoming JETS 2.0 contract vehicle. The DLA provides large-scale acquisition services for the U.S. military and supports acquisitions of military supplies. Further, the DLA manages the acquisition of over $48 billion in military contracts per year.

Deneal discussed the DLA's strategic priorities, to include small businesses, of which there are four: defending the homeland, deterring strategic attacks, deterring aggression and building a resilient joint force and ecosystem. These priorities translate to four focus areas for the organization: competition, access, parity and equity.

Deneal noted that his office supports Small Business programs for all DLA Contracting Servic … Read more

In April, Jeffrey Weeks, senior vice president and chief information security officer, First National of Nebraska (FNN), Omaha, Nebraska, spent time with the chapter discussing the intricacies of cyber threats and how best to thwart them.

Weeks began by pointing out that FNN is the fourth largest credit card processor in the United States. He commented that he has a workforce of 50 dedicated security professionals, of which five are "ethical hackers." He places their abilities on par with an artificial intelligence detection system used for uncovering nation-state-type attacks. Regarding phishing attacks, Weeks commented that this is one of the primary methods hackers use to gain entry. He clarified upfront that whenever in doubt, delete the email. Once executed, a ransomware email locks the user's system and encrypts their data. The perpetrator will offer a key to break the encryption for a price. The question is, what guarantee do you have that they will follow through?
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The chapter's ROTC and Veteran's Scholarship Program was held at Fayetteville State University (FSU) in August. During the event, the chapter awarded scholarships to ROTC cadets at Campbell University, North Carolina State and FSU. Also, a veteran at Fayetteville Technical Community College received a scholarship. These awards were in addition to chapter scholarships given to graduating high school seniors and local Teacher STEM Grants.

The chapter announced its newly elected executive board for 2021-2022. Board members were carefully selected to uphold AFCEA values and to meet mission requirements through advancing information technology, communications and electronics capabilities.

Jimmie Adkins, vice president of sales at Hitachi Vantara Federal, will serve as chapter president for the 2021-2022 term. He will be supported by Nick Nilan, director of product development, Verizon, who will serve as chapter executive vice president; and Jessica Hersey, vice president, Capture Operations and Excellence, Leidos, who will serve as chapter senior vice president.

The chapter has a rich history of innovative programming that enables collaboration between military, government, industry and academia, aligning technology and strategy to meet mission requirements. The chapter largely focuses on the U.S. Defense Department and intelligence community, as well as homeland security and defense and veteran health-rel … Read more

The chapter has announced the winners for the 2021 InnovateIT Awards program, honoring individuals or groups in the federal civilian and health information technology (IT) markets who have combined leadership with innovation to achieve tangible results in the areas of security, automation and modernization within their organizations or across federal IT.

"This year's InnovateIT awardees are thought leaders who have demonstrated innovative solutions that meet agency challenges and transform service to the citizen," said Chapter President Naina Leo. 'AFCEA Bethesda is excited to recognize these outstanding leaders who have managed cutting-edge initiatives that advance the mission of their organizations or the state of federal IT.'

The 2021 Innovate IT Award finalists include the following:

Janet Vogel, chief information security officer, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was awarded Government Innovation Leader of the Year. Cal Zemelman, executive dir … Read more

In May, the chapter organized a webinar on "Space Technologies and Homeland Security." At the beginning of the webinar, a brief introduction about space technologies was given by Alim Rustem Aslan, professor and head of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Aerospace Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University. This was followed by an explanation of history and current developments in space studies within Turkey. Aslan also emphasized the relationship between space technologies and national security and explained the importance of the space technologies race and cooperation in the world. The webinar concluded with the participants asking and answering questions in accordance with the principle of increasing shared knowledge.

The chapter kicked off its annual New Horizons Symposium this year, which spanned five days over two weeks in March. Jamie Thurber, chapter first vice president and senior manager of government affairs, Lockheed-Martin, performed master of ceremonies duties for the event, 'Accelerating Change-Strengthening Partnerships-Securing the Future,' which focused on exploring how the Air Force was responding to the mandate from Gen. Charles Brown, USAF, chief of staff, to 'accelerate change or lose.' Thurber welcomed more than 700 registrants and acknowledged 47 sponsors who made the symposium possible, paying special note to double diamond sponsors CACI International, Lumen and Oasis Systems, plus Diamond Sponsors Tricentis and Veritas Technologies. A panel discussion (Leading in Times of Great Change) featuring six former Electronic Systems Division/Center (now Air Force Life Cycle Management Center) commanders opened the first day. Moderated by Phyllis DiTocco, The Boeing Company, and Tim … Read more

Quo vadis digitization of the German Armed Forces after the coronavirus? This exciting question, with emphasis on synergies in the area of defense and homeland security, was answered at a hybrid evening event hosted by the chapter in February. Among others, Lt. Gen. Vetter, chief information officer, German Ministry of Defense (MoD), and Lt. Gen. Ansgar Rieks, vice chief, German Air Force, spoke.

This was the first large hybrid event hosted by the chapter. It was supported by the partner chapter in Munich and the member company IBM Germany.

Almost 300 participants followed an interesting panel debate involving two members of the German Parliament (Defense and Homeland Security Committees) and a senior Chancellery official. All have clearly spoken out in favor of more political attention, greater visibility in the ministries and authorities, more qualified staff at all levels and a radical cultural change (more agile and more willing to take risks), regarding digitizati … Read more

In February, the chapter's Third Annual IC IT Day kicked off 2021 with this year's theme of Balancing Security and Accessibility in the Virtual Environment. The day offered a variety of IC Leadership and provided timely insights and opportunity for industry. Sean Caufield, IC IT Day chairman and current chapter executive vice president kicked off the day with the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) Panel "Reimagining Readiness: Building an AI/Emerging Tech-Ready Organization." The panel included Jacqueline Tame, acting deputy director; Jane Pinelis, chief, Test and Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML); and Alka Patel, head of AI ethics policy. The panel was moderated by Kari Bingen, nonresident senior adviser, Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS). As part of the discussion on the JAIC 2.0 effort, Pinelis provided some insight into a new forthcoming multi-award contract for data readiness assessments that will help connect U.S. Defe … Read more

In November, chapter members visited HAVELSAN General Manager Mehmet Akif Nacar. During the meeting, the participants provided general information about AFCEA as an organization, member benefits and events.

HAVELSAN A.S. is one of the leading institutions of the Turkish defense industry in information technologies and simulators. Considered one of Turkey's largest technology companies, HAVELSAN is a leading brand in the international market with its experience, expert employees, advanced software-intensive solutions and products.

HAVELSAN offers turnkey solutions to its customers by bringing together the products of companies that produce technology in the defense, security, informatics sectors and business ecosystem.

HAVELSAN's core competencies are in software-intensive systems, including command, control and defense technologies; education and simulation technologies; information and communication technologies; homeland security and cybersecurity solutions.Read more