I am back from the DoDIIS Conference in lovely downtown Detroit... I noticed an eerie lack of hustle and bustle in the downtown district, in spite of the conference's success. Cool architecture kept my interest as well as some inviting eating establishments. Here are my Must Do Items and "Must Not Do" for these kind of conferences:

A week ago, I spent three nights in the hospital with my 17-year-old son, who was suffering from severe headaches and uncontrolled nausea. One test after another revealed nothing, and we ended up with a diagnosis of, “Get him some rest, keep something down and hydrate him with IVs [intravenous fluids], and we’ll see.” Needless to say, his dad—a trained submarine nuclear officer and former chief information officer of Navy Medicine—was ready to stand the watch in the hospital. “Get him some rest and fluids…”—a simple assignment—or so it seemed.

Scientists working for the U.S. Navy are exploring a raft of new energy technologies designed both to wean the sea service off its reliance on traditional fossil fuels and to provide new sources of power for ships that will require ever greater amounts of electricity.

Members of the U.S. military community are ensuring that some good comes out of the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 by creating a response package that will improve rescue efforts during similar future events. Rather than assembling capabilities that troops can take with them when leaving for humanitarian assistance missions, the new offering will be predeployed and ready for action sooner. In the end, aid should be available more quickly, and U.S. partners should be better equipped to take care of themselves or lend a hand.

During a year spent in the harsh environs of Helmand Province, communications Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) engaged in a range of projects that helped protect their fellow warfighters and changed the face of technology in the area. From enlarging existing networks to introducing capabilities new to the Corps, systems in that territory will never be the same. And neither will the lives of the local residents, who are taking advantage of the increased stability in the region.

The export laws imposed by the U.S. government on defense-related goods and information have been a source of aggravation for U.S. companies and foreign customers for years. Private-sector firms continue to push for changes, and both the enforcement agencies and the current presidential administration are responding. However, interested parties sitting outside the border see several issues that might not be at the forefront for those making the adjustments.

Coalition forces have a new resource in the battle against improvised explosive devices, and it should enhance efforts well into the future. This training initiative offers both immediate skills for the war in Afghanistan as well as train-the-trainer options for participants to bring back to their home countries. Success will mean fewer deaths and injuries for all warfighters, but the work also has another goal—to prepare foreign troops to take more active roles in conflict, thereby reducing the number of U.S. service members who have to fight on the front lines.

The global security community has never had a greater need for training and education—or needed more help.

Autonomous robots soon could be equipped with electronic noses that perceive the chemical signatures of explosives, chemical and biological weapons, and even humans. A portable micro gas chromatograph system is being designed to fit on a dime-size chip so it can be incorporated into unmanned systems without adding significant weight or increasing space or energy requirements. Work is underway on several fronts, including perfecting the sensor itself and experimenting with it on robotic platforms that could be in the field later this decade.

The U.S. Army is leveraging the latest advances in computing power and digital hardware to expand and improve training using virtual reality technology. Whether it is teaching soldiers how to exit an overturned vehicle safely; reinforcing lessons learned in ground patrol training; or even helping returning warriors cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, virtual reality simulations are enabling the Army to train more effectively and economically.