DAYTON — In an effort to continue its engagement with industry, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center held its third annual Life Cycle Industry Days (LCID) event at the University of Dayton River Campus in Dayton Sept. 12-14.
The sold-out event drew hundreds of attendees from small and large business as well as senior leaders from various Air Force, Department of Defense, and other federal agencies, to network, learn about and discuss future Air Force requirements and acquisition issues.
The event was jam packed with featured speakers, to include Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, who talked about exciting developments in the Air Force acquisition world, to include new prototyping and rapid fielding authorities granted by Section 804 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which he suggested would be beneficial to the service.
Gen. James “Mike” Holmes, the commander of Air Combat Command addressed the importance of working together to bring new capabilities on board and extend the Air Force’s air superiority. In addition, he talked about readiness goals from an ACC perspective.
LCID attendees were able to sit in on a large variety of interactive sessions that covered topics including ‘Artificial Intelligence for the Digital Enterprise,’ ‘Innovation on Propulsion,’ ‘Enabling Small Business for Success,’ and ‘Product Support/Supply Chain Management.’
They were also able to attend portfolio review sessions from the Mobility, Agile Combat Support, Propulsion, Tankers, Fighter/Bomber and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Special Operations Forces Directorates, and get an inside perspective of the organizations and their needs.
In addition, they were able to have one-on-one discussions with program executive officers, directors and other Air Force experts representing directorates throughout AFLCMC.
Lt. Gen. Robert McMurry, the AFLCMC commander, encouraged everyone to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the event.
“We are all patriots and we want to do something good for our country,” said McMurry. “So I encourage you to go out, learn something you didn’t know, meet someone you didn’t know, hear a new story, make that connection because it may solve tomorrow’s problems.”