AFCEA Europe’s TechNet International 2013, held at the Lisbon Congress Center, Portugal, on October 23 and 24, was organized under the patronage of the minister of national defense, Portugal, in cooperation with the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency and with the support of the AFCEA Portugal Chapter. This event, which was run under the theme “Go Connected + Go Smart = Zero Distance,” brought together more than 300 experts from NATO, government, academia and industry.
Association Feature
January 1, 2013
Challenges and solutions abound as the alliance puts its reorganization to the test.
The recent reorganization of NATO’s information organization represents the leading edge of a series of new approaches toward operations and procurement by the 63-year-old alliance. At the heart of this effort is NATO’s “smart defense” initiative, which seeks to do more with less. By design, it must involve industry and cooperative efforts early in the development of any program.
October 1, 2012
The final conference in the TechNet Land Forces series focuses on military efforts to defend vital computer networks.
August 2012
Having experienced more than a decade of hot and humid Washington, D.C., summers, I thoroughly enjoyed the pleasant start we experienced this year. Warm temperatures, cooling breezes and clear skies made for delightful days and evenings. It doesn’t get much better than that. Unfortunately, the political climate in no way resembles that pattern. 
July 2012
Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, USA, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warns of new national security threats in an address at Joint Warfighting 2012, held in Virginia Beach, Virginia, May 15-17.
Emerging technologies add to the complexities that both boost and bedevil modern forces. 
July 2012
Lt. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins, USAF, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), addresses the audience at the 2012 DISA Mission Partner Conference in Tampa, Florida, in May.
The U.S. military must embrace burgeoning technologies to save money and protect data. 
June 2012
Brig. Gen. David Coffman, USMC, former commander of the 13th Expeditionary Unit who currently is assigned to the National Military Command Center, prepares for a presentation in March at the AFCEA TechNet Land Warfare Southwest Conference in Tucson, Arizona.
Growing military reliance on data presents challenges. 
April 2012
Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, USN (Ret.), delivers some sobering assessments of the military’s future at West 2012 in San Diego, California.
Planners hope budgetary restrictions spur innovative thinking. 
January 2012
Adm. Timothy J. Keating, USN (Ret.), the former commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), led off TechNet Asia-Pacific 2011 by calling for the United States to "lead from within" instead of "leading from behind."
Allies must remain engaged or fall prey to rapidly changing political and economic trends. 
January 2012
Georges D’hollander, general manager of the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency, addresses the audience at TechNet International 2011 in Heidelberg, Germany.
Paying less and having more is the goal in NATO’s dynamic digital realm. 
January 2012
Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, USAF, commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, addresses the audience at MILCOM 2011.
Armed forces face austere budgets, more mandates to collaborate. 
November 2011
Allied Command Transformation faces a multitude of challenges across the alliance.
New security concerns are vying with the global financial crisis as NATO’s Allied Command Transformation attempts to keep abreast of the dynamic field of global security. Gen. Stéphane Abrial, FRAF, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, opened the eighth ACT Industry Day held in London in September by emphasizing that affordability is today’s important word.
October 2011
Lt. Gen. Susan Lawrence, USA, the chief information officer (CIO)/G-6 of the U.S. Army, tells listeners at LandWarNet 2011 about the network of 2020 and how budgets, personnel and technology will affect it. She also discusses the Army’s new plans for integrating technical advancements into the network. 
July 2011
Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, USA, commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, discusses national security issues at Joint Warfighting 2011.
Defense spending faces curbs as challenges grow, particularly in cyberspace. 
July 2011
Defense Department Chief Information Officer Teri Takai outlines cloud security issues. 
May 2011
Gen. Keith Alexander, USA, who leads both U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, called for greater international partnerships in defending critical networks during his February keynote address at the AFCEA Homeland Security Conference in Washington, D.C. 
April 2011
Vice Adm. Richard W. Hunt, USN, commander, U.S. Third Fleet, addresses the audience at West 2011 in San Diego.
Predicting the next conflict takes a back seat to flexible planning. 
January 2011
Adm. Robert F. Willard, USN, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, opens TechNet Asia-Pacific 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii, with warnings of cyberspace hazards.
Kinetic concerns continue, but the digital domain reigns. 
January 2011
At TechNet International, Georges D’hollander, general manager, NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency, explains that cyberspace today is defined more by social than technical issues. 
October 2010
Gen. Keith B. Alexander, USA, commander of U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service, spoke about cyberoperations during LandWarNet 2010.
Battlefield and homeland requirements demand innovations integrate quicker. 
July 2010
Lt. Gen. Michael L. Oates, USA, is the director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization.
Military leaders agree that accurately predicting imminent warfighter needs is problematic but proper preparation is vital. 
May 2010
Cybersecurity continues to be a major homeland security issue. Steve Chabinsky (l), deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, listens while Justice Department Chief Information Officer (CIO) Van Hitch describes efforts to coordinate federal government cybersecurity efforts by helping agency CIOs improve security and collaboration. 
April 2010
Gen. James E. Cartwright, USMC, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, describes the changes driving the new Quadrennial Defense Review at West 2010.
Every type of sociological, economic and military transformation is creating exponentially greater uncertainties. 
February 2, 2010
Every type of sociological, economic and military transformation is creating exponentially greater uncertainties.
February 3, 2010
The how may be more elusive than the funding for it.
February 4, 2010
But much remains to be done as the service adjusts to a new era.
All the chief of naval operations did on the last day of West 2010 was describe the future U.S. Navy and its top requirements. Adm. Gary Roughead, USN, told an overflow audience at the three-day event’s final luncheon that the Navy will be built around information, in both technology and practice.
“Our way forward must be centered on information and how we use it,” Adm. Roughead declared.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Rear Adm. Michael A. Brown, USN, is the deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications and National Communications System manager, DHS.
Information technology professionals explore the challenges of protecting data, systems and networks. 
January 2010
The new U.S. Pacific Command J-6, Brig. Gen. Brett T. Williams, USAF, calls for a new relationship between communicators and operators at the opening breakfast of TechNet Asia-Pacific 2009.
Achieving the technology solution may be harder in cyberspace. 
Tuesday, January 02, 2010
With a NATO focus, security experts from around the world gather in Brussels, Belgium, to explore the management of security and its technical and physical applications at TechNet International. 
Tuesday, January 02, 2010
While the push forward for better collaboration and information-sharing capabilities will require technical advances, the experts at a NATO workshop in
December 2009
David Gergen, CNN commentator and an editor at-large for U.S. News and World Report, speaks at MILCOM 2009. 
July 2009
Gen. James N. Mattis, USMC, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, and commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, calls for the acceleration of military transformation.
Persistent warfare demands fundamental changes. 
July 2009
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Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., USAF, commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command, opens the SOLUTIONS conference on information sharing among agencies and coalition partners with a call to move from discussion to action. |
April 2009
Enemies are ubiquitous, spending is not, in this new age. 
Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, USN, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, gives the kickoff address at West 2009.
February 2009
The digital realm may host key battles in coming conflicts. 
Then-Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff gives a keynote address at the AFCEA Solutions Cyberspace conference, held in Washington, D.C., in December.
January 2009
NATO members and others mingle to put forth ideas on partnering and removing barriers to collaboration. 
Keynote speaker Vice Adm. Emil Lyutskanov, BU N, first deputy chief
of the general staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces (l), addresses the audience at TechNet Europe 2008 as AFCEA Europe General Manager Cmdre. Robert Howell, RN (Ret.), listens.
January 2009
Almost any potential issue with networking or interoperability emerges in the vast area. 
Lt. Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, USAF, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, cites the need for greater understanding of networks in his keynote address at TechNet Asia-Pacific 2008.
November 2008
Too many hazards, too many vulnerabilities, too valuable a target. 
John Grimes, the assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration and Defense Department chief information officer, gives the opening address at the AFCEA Solutions Series’ Information Assurance conference.
November 2008
Major communications elements deal with budgetary, cultural and technological issues. 
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sorenson, USA, U.S. Army chief information officer (CIO)/G-6, kicks off LandWarNet 2008.
September 2008
The need for assuring identity is clear, but the path to achieving it is not. 
Bob Lentz, deputy assistant secretary of defense for information and identity assurance, emphasizes its importance to all information technology activities while speaking at AFCEA’s Solutions Series conference on identity assurance.
September 2008
Emphasis on fighting terrorists’ asymmetric tactics leaves services less prepared to fight conventional warfare. 
“This enemy is not going to go away any time soon.”
—Gen. James N. Mattis, USMC, commander, JFCOM, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
July 2008
The need to share and the need to secure are not in competition.
Cultural changes in the U.S. Defense Department are bringing people out of their comfort zones and encouraging them to take advantage of technology opportunities happening around them. The movement toward a service-oriented world is challenging the systems mentality and is leading to a collaboration and information sharing environment that is more agile and responsive.
