Charleston Defense Contractors Association Announces 10th Annual C5ISR Summit Speakers and Early Agenda

CHARLESTON, S.C., Nov. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA), a non-profit advocacy group for the defense industry in the Charleston metro area, has announced the first round of speakers for the upcoming 10^th annual C5ISR Summit in Charleston, December 6-9, 2016. The C5ISR Summit, which stands for Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Combat Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, started as an educational and networking event born out of the need to connect the wide-range of players across the defense industry.

The CDCA's mission is not only to act as an advocacy group for the defense industry, the organization also bolsters the industry's ability to develop, attract, retain, and effectively execute on business opportunities that have implications beyond the Charleston metro area. The statewide economic impact of defense spending ($19.3B) now exceeds tourism spending in South Carolina ($19.1B) and, according to an economic study done by the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, accounts for more than 200,000 jobs.

The C5ISR Summit will also showcase the top three submissions from the CDCA's 6^th Annual Student Mobile App Competition and is the home for the HackWarz Competition, running simultaneously with the event. These two competitions provide students, developers and aspiring defense industry mavens with the chance to showcase their technology prowess and expertise to more than 1000 industry executives and influencers. In addition to monetary rewards, some of last year's mobile app contest winners also received employment offers to jumpstart their career.

"The CDCA is dedicated to driving and preserving the defense industry's positive economic impact on the Charleston region and a crucial element of that role is bringing together key industry leaders, innovative technology companies and other influential individuals and organizations to collaborate on the opportunities, as well as the challenges, that we face in the defense industry," said Joshua Hatter, Vice President, Public Relations Chair, CDCA. "This summit is one of the largest of its kind in the Southeast and not only does it bring together major players in the industry, it also provides education for future generations of industry leaders through things like the Student Mobile App Competition, which offers development support, marketing expertise, mentorship, and guidance for participants." 

Some of this year's prominent speakers, include:

• Vice Admiral Jan Tighe, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare/Director of Naval Intelligence. VADM Tighe is in charge of developing all the C5ISR Requirements and pulling together the budget to meet the Navy's needs.
• Rear Admiral David H. Lewis, Commander, SPAWAR, leads a global workforce of 10,300 civilian and military personnel who design, develop and deploy advanced communications and information capabilities.
• Rear Admiral Christian Becker, PEO, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I)/PEO SPACE, leads acquisition efforts to procure the C5ISR systems the Navy deploys.
• Brigadier General Dennis Crall, Director, C4, HQMC / Chief Information Officer (CIO), USMC, provides the Marine Corps with policy and direction, as related to C5ISR.

This year's agenda will feature talks on: "Delivering Robust Resilient Communications to the Tactical Edge," "USMC-Transforming Command and Control Within a Seamless Warfighting Enterprise," "Key priorities and Small Business Initiatives within the Dept. of Navy" and many other hot topics.  Early sponsors include Parsons, Mercom, Dispersive Technologies, Booz Allen Hamilton, Clemson, EPCI, USC and more. Sponsorship opportunities are still available, media can register free of charge and exhibitor space is still available: C5ISR Summit, Dec. 6-9, Charleston, SC (convention center).                                              

About Charleston Defense Contractors Association

Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA) is an association of organizations and individual professionals dedicated to preserving, highlighting and continuing to grow the defense industry and its affiliated-organizations in Charleston, South Carolina, and its immediate surrounding region.  Since its inception in December 2002, the CDCA has worked to address issues facing the continually changing landscape that is Charleston's defense industry presence and ensure that it continues to be a thriving, sustained business opportunity in Charleston, South Carolina. Members include: Amazon Web Services, SAIC, UEC, ManTech, BAE Systems, Booz Allen Hamilton, CDW-G, Cisco, SCRA, Honeywell, and more. For further information, visit us at http://www.charlestondca.org/. 

SOURCE Charleston Defense Contractors Association

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