News United States Air Force
 SecAF, DoD, industry leaders share stage at 2018 AFITCPublished July 10, 2018
                        
                        By  Phil Berube
                        
                        
                        Air University Public Affairs
                **MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) --**
                Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson and the service’s new assistant secretary for acquisitions, technology and logistics, Dr. Will Roper, are two of the military keynote speakers sharing the stage with industry leaders at this year’s Air Force Information Technology and Cyberpower Conference. 
The 2018 AFITC Conference will be Aug. 27-29, 2018, in Alabama’s capital city of Montgomery.
With a theme of “CyberVision of the Future: Mission Defense and Trusted Information,” the conference will highlight the importance of the continuing need for industry partners, decision makers, academia and government professionals to collaborate on joint ventures in the IT and cyber domains. 
Among the government keynote speakers joining Wilson and Roper are Lt. Gen. Bradford Shwedo, Air Force chief, Information Dominance, and chief information officer; and Vice Admiral Nancy Norton, director, Defense Information Systems Agency and commander, Joint Force Headquarters-DoD Information Network.   
"This conference ranks as one of the Air Force's most prestigious national events,” said AFITC chair Marcie Rhodes, chief of the Core Financial Systems Branch at the Air Force Program Executive Office-Business Enterprise Systems here, a conference co-sponsor. “Where else can you assemble professionals from cyber, IT, operational and academia sectors with stakeholders, decision makers and end-users in one forum? Our conference offers a unique marriage between Air Force strategic goals and burgeoning IT technologies that are being discussed and implemented every day within government and industry circles." 
Through an aggressive schedule of cyber and IT breakout and plenary sessions and panel discussions, attendees will gain insight to and an understanding of all aspects of DoD and Air Force cyberspace and IT, including enterprise architecture, cyber security and governance, identity management and acquisitions and spectrum management. 
AFITC started nearly three decades ago as the Air Force Small Computer Conference, bringing together Air Force communications experts and industry vendors. 
The purpose of the conference then was for industry to show the Air Force the latest technologies in personal computers and networking components. This event occurred in late August to take advantage of "end of fiscal year" funds, and personnel brought their unit credit cards to make purchases on the spot, said Richard Aldridge, director, AFPEO-BES. 
“Now, 30 years later, AFITC brings together Air Force cyber and IT experts with commercial partners and thought leaders in academia to understand current and innovative technologies and form future strategy,” said Aldridge. “The breakout sessions regarding cyber policy, doctrine, acquisition and operations serve as information and decision making forums. Every cyber and IT issue impacting the Air Force over the next 12 months will be discussed at AFITC 2018."*To register and learn more about the conference, visit **www.afitc-event.com**. More than 150 vendors have signed up for the conference, eager to demo cutting-edge IT and cyber software and hardware.*Secretary of the Air Force 



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