MONTGOMERY CHAPTER - 10/25/2018
The chapter hosted its annual membership mixer in October at a local venue, the Alley Bar, in Montgomery, Alabama. The event drew a full house of industry, government and military personnel. The mixer provided a prime opportunity for members to network and served as a great learning experience for nonmembers who were looking to join the organization. Attendees also had the opportunity to network with various community leaders. Finally, the event provided an opportunity for the chapter to present the officer nominees: Col. Kyna McCall, USAF, president; Ray Perry, vice president; Tija Brown, Young AFCEA Advisory Council president; Eric Sloan, director, Education Foundation; Candace Akerson, secretary; and Cheryl Brown, treasurer. Overall, the evening was a success, and the chapter looks forward to working with new and existing AFCEA members on future events.
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MONTGOMERY CHAPTER - 10/20/2018
Participants in the Young AFCEAN "Get Fit" program took on the Nitty Gritty 5K in October to run or walk for a good cause. The race was sponsored by the Prattville YMCA in Alabama, which focuses on youth development, healthful living and social responsibility. The chapter's Young AFCEANs are proud to support worthy causes and look forward to enjoying more fun and fitness at future "Get Fit" events.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 10/18/2018
In October, the chapter's Women in AFCEA (WIA) welcomed Kentucky's Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, USAF, to speak to the audience about her passion to encourage and challenge the state to get more girls involved in STEM careers. Kathryn Thompson, chapter vice president for WIA, set the stage by describing the purpose of WIA. It is to promote the growth of AFCEA membership by creating and sustaining a space for women in technology for dialogue and communication, and using these conversations to reignite and inspire women in IT. WIA's goals are to increase AFCEA female membership and to increase participation of women in all areas of AFCEA, including speakers at events, committee membership and award winner recipients at conferences. Lt. Gov. Hampton told the audience of her upbringing in Detroit and several manufacturing jobs that she held as well as her time in the Air Force. She went on to say that 71 percent of all jobs in 2018 require STEM skills, yet only 24 percent of females in the U ... READ MORE
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ARKLATEX CHAPTER - 10/17/2018
Col. Andrew (Andy) Gale, USAF (Ret.), senior director, government affairs and infrastructure solutions, Symantec, offered his views and recommendations on personal, organizational and governmental cybersecurity in October at the chapter's first luncheon of the 2018-19 calendar. Gale described that Symantec's business goes way beyond virus scanning on personal computers. He talked about the three prime directives of Symantec's Security Technology and Respond (STAR) team and discussed the overarching cyber threat landscape. The chapter thanks Gale for a memorable luncheon.
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DAYTON-WRIGHT CHAPTER - 10/17/2018
The chapter was honored to have Col. Brandon J. Robinson, USAF, as its October luncheon speaker. Col. Robinson has a stellar career in communications, intelligence and cyber fields. He is currently the director of communications and information at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Prior to assuming his current position, Col. Robinson was commander of the 86th Communications Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He has held a wide variety of positions both in garrison and deployed to include flight commander; contingency war planner; combined air and space operations center systems lead; executive officer; information operations planner; airborne communications operations lead; commander's action group; combatant command cyberspace and network operations branch chief; and multiple squadron commands. Col. Robison focused on the current challenges and roles that are a part of NASIC's portfolio.
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ALAMO CHAPTER - 10/16/2018
The chapter welcomed Robert Cole, executive director, 24th Air Force, Air Combat Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, as guest speaker for October's luncheon. Cole kicked off the discussion with the cost of entry into cyber and how although the world's expectation is low, it is growing exponentially. He spoke on the National Defense Strategy and how the nation is taking measures to rebuild a more elite force and reshape with regard to competitors. The U.S. Defense Department's Cyber Strategy 2019 was released in September with an updated strategy based on four pillars of protecting, promoting, preserving and advancing. When it comes to roles and responsibilities, Cole stated that the 24th Air Force was embedded to organize, train and equip while Air Forces Cyber is postured to operate, secure and defend. "How we do cyber is through the Air Force network and the Air Force information network," he said. 'This is a 24/7 operation with more than one million users. We have to ... READ MORE
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DAYTON-WRIGHT CHAPTER - 10/11/2018
In October, the chapter partnered once again with Technology First for a tech forum. "The Moneyball CIO - Learning the Science of IT Decision Making" was facilitated by Wesley McPherson, associate research director for the Security and Risk practice at Info-Tech Research Group. The lunchtime event was held at the Business Solutions Center, Dayton, Ohio. Input and questions were taken from attendees. The tech forums occur three times a year and are open to all professionals in the Technology First Community. Technology First is an IT industry trade association. They create a community for individuals to grow their business, share knowledge, learn new skills, seek new opportunities and explore the future. Their goal is to transform the Dayton region into the gold standard for the best-connected information technology community.
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ALAMO CHAPTER - 10/10/2018
In October, the chapter held its annual corporate sponsors lunch coordinated by the Vice President of Corporate Affairs Tom Allen. Allen welcomed all attendees and then introduced Chapter President Rick Lipsey. Lipsey discussed the chapter's successes and new initiatives, and gave the business perspective of being a corporate sponsor. He asked corporate sponsors to think about how they could collectively work together to expand membership involvement and participation. "This is a new initiative we are working on as a chapter," said Lipsey. He proudly announced that the Alamo Chapter is the 5th largest chapter of the 135 AFCEA chapters nationally recognized. He then opened it up to questions from the group and provided valuable feedback for 2019 initiatives.
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HAWAII CHAPTER - 10/09/2018
The chapter invited members from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), the Defense Security Service (DSS), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI for an October panel discussion on insider threats. Christine Lanning, chapter vice president of programs, moderated the discussion and provided questions for the panel to answer. One panelist suggested that most organizations do not have a plan for insider threats and are more focused on workplace violence, active shooters and disasters. The panel mentioned that organizations may concentrate on identifying inside actors and mitigating their risks but forget about those suffering from mental health issues. Panelists agreed that organizations are obligated to get help for these workers rather than just fire them. The panelists also discussed how departing personnel believe that the information and data they produced or worked on becomes their personal property, and they may want to take it with them. But that ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 10/06/2018
On a beautiful early October day at Fort Knox's Lindsey Golf Course-sunny, mild, gently breezy-17 teams gathered for the chapter's annual golf scramble fundraiser. The event raised thousands of dollars to support STEM scholarships for students and teachers; this year alone, the chapter has awarded $10,000 in scholarships. Teams were supported by platinum sponsor Exeter Government Services and gold sponsors TEKsystems, Veeam and Brooksource. Seven teams were donated so that active-duty service members and veterans could participate at no cost. The chapter thanks all sponsors and golfers and hopes to see everyone next year.
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NORTHERN VIRGINIA CHAPTER - 10/01/2018
During the chapter's Naval IT Day in October, Rear Adm. Danelle Barrett, USN, cybersecurity division director, N2/N6, and Brig. Gen. Lorna Mahlock, USMC, director, command, control, communications and computers, Headquarters Marine Corps, provided their vision on modernization in a fireside chat, "Restoring Wholeness in Our Naval Force Through IT & Cyber Acquisition,' moderated by AT&T's Chris Smith. The day featured Navy and Marine Corps speakers representing multiple communities-requirements, operations, policy, acquisition and small business. With a common theme of modernizing, the panels opined on how industry can support the Naval services within the bounds of financial and cybersecurity constraints. The keynote featured Dana Deasy, chief information officer, U.S Department of Defense, who spoke about AI, big data and cloud, and his vision for DOD.
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