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SAN DIEGO - Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) leadership and senior industry experts gathered at the quarterly SPAWAR-Industry Executive Network (SIEN) roundtable Aug. 23 to discuss the DOD business climate in San Diego in light of impending budget cuts.
The SIEN panel dialogue covered a range of topics highlighting the military’s vital fiscal impact to the region, including the importance of creating and sustaining partnerships between industry, government and academia; identifying opportunities for bridging innovation gaps to meet warfighter emerging needs; and forecasting what the future of military business will look like in San Diego should sequestration go into effect.
SPAWAR’s Chief Engineer, Rear Adm. Jim Rodman was part of a panel comprised of several of the region’s key business thought leaders with extensive experience and knowledge of military and government economic matters.
“I’m a bit of a contrarian because I see opportunity on the horizon,” said Rodman. “If we synergize the intellectual capital available in our community, we can find creative and fiscally responsible ways to meet emerging needs. Our partnerships will enable us to address some of these impending budgetary issues.”
Gene Ray, director for GMT Ventures, moderated the panel that also included Sean Barr, vice president, Economic Development Corporation; Mark Kohlheim, vice president, Cubic Defense Applications, Inc.; Tony Nufer, senior program manager at CSC and immediate past president of the San Diego Military Advisory Council; Lynn Reaser, Ph.D., chief economist, Point Loma Nazarene University; and Duane Roth, CEO, CONNECT.
Although much of the panel discussion centered on speculation about the potential loss of jobs and defense link dollars to the region, Rodman remained positive.
“If you look at the DOD budget for cyber and unmanned autonomous vehicles, you will see an upturn in the budget for next year,” said Rodman. “We are better positioned than anywhere else in the nation because of the concentration of defense here in San Diego, the partnerships we have and our expertise in those key technology areas.”
The event was well-attended by local military and industry leaders and provided an interactive venue for in-depth discussions on the possible impact to defense budgets in light of impending sequestration.
Budgets are declining but capability requirements have not changed said Rodman. As a result, partnerships form a vital link to the Information Dominance capability necessary for the warfighter. The technical authority that SPAWAR provides not only helps facilitate the transition of new technology to the fleet but it helps control program costs over their lifecycles, which is imperative in the current austere fiscal environment.
“We need to maximize warfighter utility and value and become more efficient,” said Rodman. “Our goal is to be more transparent regarding capability gaps, quickly identify the threats and come up with timely solutions. If we leverage our community and partnerships, we can press through this economic storm cloud and minimize impact to the region.”
The quarterly SIEN event was established to engage industry and government at the executive level. With more than 200 years of combined federal acquisition and defense industry experience, the panel was hosted in partnership with the San Diego chapter of the National Defense Industry Association to facilitate an open and strong dialog between SPAWAR personnel and the San Diego defense industry.
As the Navy's Information Dominance systems command, SPAWAR designs, develops and deploys advanced communications and information capabilities. With more than 8,900 active duty military and civil service professionals located around the world and close to the fleet, SPAWAR is at the forefront of research, engineering, acquisition and support services that provide vital decision superiority to our forces at the right time and for the right cost.
| Date Taken: | 08.23.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2012 19:05 |
| Story ID: | 93788 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 154 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SPAWAR, Industry Discuss the Importance of Sustaining DOD Business in the Shadow of Sequestration, by Tina Stillions, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
