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NGAUS will once again bring together National Guard leaders and officials from many defense companies at the association’s 26th Annual Industry Day.
Industry officials will gather Dec. 11-12 at the National Guard Memorial, the association’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., to discover the Guard's latest requirements.
Attendees will also learn about the role NGAUS plays in educating Congress on Guard needs and hear from a key member of the House Appropriations Committee.
"For our corporate partners who participate in Industry Day, it is a day and a half of immersion into the Guard environment," said retired Col. Bruce VanSkiver, the chair of the NGAUS Corporate Advisory Panel.
"It lays out the fundamental understanding of who all the major players are," continued VanSkiver, who works for Collins Aerospace after retiring from the Air Force.
According to Blaise Lemke, the association's industry liaison, NGAUS expects more than 180 attendees at the 26th Annual Industry Day. Lemke is also scheduled to speak during the first and second days of Industry Day next week.
This year’s Industry Day starts Dec. 11, with a mini-Industry Day titled, "Working with NGAUS and the Guard."
VanSkiver said the event will identify the Guard's most pressing capability gaps and proposed strategies for adopting potential products and services at the state and national levels.
He added the mini-Industry Day will also detail how the NGAUS resolution process works to improve the Guard’s equipment and training in future defense appropriations.
Day One’s speakers include Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles, the NGAUS chairman, and Kyle Beagle, the director of the National Guard Bureau’s Office of Small Business Programs.
"If you don’t know what their capability gaps are, it becomes difficult for industry to know how they can help," VanSkiver added. "I've seen firsthand how NGAUS is the bridging activity between the Guard and industry."
The second part of Industry Day will open with Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson sharing his "final targets" as NGB chief. Hokanson is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Next, Day Two will feature Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., a key member of the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, discussing how to protect the Guard’s equities in Congress.
Lt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen, the director of the Army Guard, and Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, the director of the Air Guard, are additionally slated for Day Two remarks.
"They are telling us firsthand what the priorities are," VanSkiver said of the Guard’s senior leaders at Industry Day.
"We’re trying to make people more effective getting started through continuous education," he added.
Nationwide, the Guard operates in 54 states, territories and the District of Columbia, with Guardsmen often working in the civilian and military worlds.
VanSkiver said Industry Day teaches businesses of all sizes about navigating this landscape, which can sometimes be confusing for the market’s new industry partners.
"There hasn’t been a single Industry Day where I haven’t learned something," he argued.
"The more B2B and business networking opportunities there are, the better individual companies will be in understanding the environment and engaging in potential solutions and capabilities they provide," VanSkiver noted.
More information about the event is available here.
— By Mark Hensch
