February 25 - 26, 2025
: Celeste Hotel, Orlando, FL
Conference Day 1 - February 25
Group 1
8:40 AM IDGA WELCOME REMARKS AND CHAIR'S OPENING REMARKS
Dr. Jim Blake PhD Former PEO STRI US Army
8:45 AM SAAB PARTNER WELCOME ADDRESS
8:50 AM OPENING REMARKS FROM THE PEO STRI PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Brigadier General Christine Beeler Program Executive Officer for Simulation Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) US Army
9:00 AM UPDATES FROM PEO STRI
- Understanding the directive of PEO STRI under the new commander
- Updates on the Project Lead Enterprise Transformation and Integration (PL ETI) office and how it has been integrated into PEO STRI
- Defining the capabilities PEO STRI sees as the future of synthetic training for the Army
Marwane Bahbaz Chief Technology Officer, PEO STRI US Army
9:30 AM HOW MIXED REALITY, VIRTUAL REALITY, AND AUGMENTED REALITY ALL FIT INTO THE MILITARY’S TRAINING PLANS
- Why one technology is not more important than the other and defining specific uses for each
- The direction the military is going in implementing emerging technology for training
- Understanding the how emerging technologies are being used for joint training between the different branches of military
Colonel Marcus Reynolds Program Manager for Training Systems US Marine Corps
11:00 AM UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF SIMULATED AND SYNTHETIC JOINT WARFARE TRAINING
- Different capabilities required to complete joint training exercises
- How different technologies such as mixed reality, virtual reality, and augmented reality play a role in joint warfare training
- Creating interoperability for simulated and synthetic joint warfare training
Captain Tim James Commanding Officer, Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) US Navy
11:30 AM HOW THE ARMY CONTRACT COMMAND HANDLES EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TRAINING CONTRACTS
- Lessons from successful and failed partnerships
- How the industry should approach working with the Army Contract Command to ensure it is a smooth process
- Tips and tricks for a more efficient contract solution
Colonel Lisbon Williams Director, Army Contract Command - Orlando US Army
12:00 PM SURFACE COMBAT TRAINING
- Leveraging non-traditional training techniques from the gaming and entertainment sectors
- Pivoting to virtual learning in fleet concentration areas
- Working with NATO allies to increase interoperability in training
Captain George Kessler Jr. Commodore, Surface Combat Systems Training Command US Navy
2:00 PM Modernization of Synthetic Training Systems
- Upgrading legacy training systems
- Incorporating modular design
- Leveraging training systems to support safety requirements
Elizabeth Tygart Product Manager, Synthetic Training Systems PM Training Systems Marine Corps Systems Command
Rachel Germansky Lead Acquisition Engineer for Range Training Systems, PM TRASYS Marine Corps Systems Command
3:00 PM HOW THE US SPACE FORCE USES SIMULATION TRAINING
- Training for a contested, degraded, and operationally-limited space environment
- Unique needs for space simulated training
- How industry can take experience from building simulation for other military branches and translate it to US Space Force simulated training
4:00 PM APPLICATIONS OF AI WITHIN MILITARY M&S APPLICATIONS
- "New" AI as an accelerator for building software (LLMs, image recognition)
- "Old" AI (pathfinding algorithms such as A* and bubble rebound)
- Applications for Mission Planning & Rehearsal
Gary DeYoung President Battlespace Simulations
4:30 PM USING AI TO IMPROVE SYNTHETIC MODELING
- Defining metrics across Army training in order to successfully integrate synthetic training
- Understanding how to improve data collection to enhance AI capabilities
- How the Army Evaluation Center plans on making AI capabilities more available to army units
Dr. Keith Brawner Program Manager, Creative Technologies University Affiliated Research Center (ICT UARC) US Army
5:00 PM IMPROVING FLEET READINESS THROUGH NAVAL TRAINING PROGRAM MODERNIZATION
- Leveraging today’s technology to modernize training
- Delivering training technologies when and where Sailors need it
- Logistical challenges for implementing training technologies for Sailors
David Kemp Ready Relevant Learning Director, PEO MLB US Navy
Conference Day 2 - February 26
Group 1
8:00 AM REGISTRATION & COFFEE
8:50 AM CHAIRMAN'S OPENING REMARKS
Dr. Jim Blake PhD Former PEO STRI US Army
9:00 AM HOW THE ITALIAN ARMED FORCES ARE IMPROVING SIMULATION TRAINING
- What scaling simulation training looks like in the Italian Armed Forces
- The role of synthetic training in the Italian Armed Forces
- How the Italian Armed Forces works with its allies to improved simulation training exercises
Lieutenant General Carlo Lamanna Head of the Training and Doctrine Command Italian Army
9:30 AM IMPROVING INTEROPERABILITY WITHIN THE AIR FORCE
- How the Air Force divisions vet industry partners for a joint project
- Best practices for creating interoperability for synthetic training
- Current examples of joint training operations using synthetic training
Colonel Anthony Graham Commander of the Air Force Agency for Modelling and Simulation (AFAMS) US Air Force
11:00 AM INDUSTRY INSIGHTS SESSION CYBER RANGES CORP
Dr. Al Graziano Chief Executive Officer CYBER RANGES
Col (ret.) Tony Perkins Head of Sales, Defense CYBER RANGES
11:30 AM OVERCOMING CYBERSECURITY CHALLENGES TO INTRODUCE NEW TRAINING METHODS
- Understand best practices for introducing new technology services to the
- Learn about the cybersecurity red flags the Army looks for
- Discover how to accelerate the process for approving software for use within training systems
Speaker
Major General Teri Williams Special Assistant to the Director of the Army National Guard US Army Cyber Matters, US National Guard
Speaker
Gaurang Dävé Cyber Technology Officer Marine Corps Systems Command
Speaker
Dr. Al Graziano Chief Executive Officer CYBER RANGES
Moderator
Dr. Jim Blake PhD Former PEO STRI US Army
12:00 PM SYNTHETIC TRAINING ACROSS THE NATO NATIONS
- How the NATO countries align on training programs
- Examples of successful joint synthetic training programs across NATO nations
- Understanding how NATO training programs differ from working with individual nation’s armies
Speaker
Wim Huiskamp Chief Scientist NATO Modelling & Simulation Group NATO
Speaker
Lieutenant General Carlo Lamanna Head of the Training and Doctrine Command Italian Army
Moderator
Captain Phillipe Desjardins TDev Instructor, Canadian Forces Training Development Center Canadian Armed Forces
1:30 PM HOW TO HELP MARINE CORPS MARKSMANSHIP LETHALITY TO REACH THE NEXT LEVEL VIA SIMIULATIONS
- Understanding how the Marine Corps and industry can work together
- The Marine Corps goals in leveling up marksmanship lethality
- Defining simulation and synthetic training metrics for marksmanship lethality improvement
2:00 PM SCALING LVC TRAINING IN THE NAVY
- Understanding the Navy’s LVC mission, challenges it is facing and its path forward
- Scaling LVC training in the Navy
- Training anywhere, anytime
- Live, Virtual, and Constructive training and assessment for the Carrier Strike Group
- Understanding the evolution of JLVC modernization and what the next steps are
Speaker
Jim Spinelli JLVC Modernization Deputy US Navy
Speaker
Jennifer Pagan Research Psychologist, Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division US Navy
Moderator
Daryl Wynn JVLCM Advanced Tech Department of Defense
2:30 PM HOW THE MILITARY IS USING AI AND SYNTHETIC ENVIRONMENTS TO TRAIN MILITARY MEDICAL STAFF
- Using AI and synthetic technology in an ethical way for medical training
- Provide standardized support for medical modeling and simulation training across the Services to improve medical readiness.
- Understanding data collection from a medical perspective
Speaker
Colonel Jeremy Pamplin Commander of the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center US Army
Moderator
Colonel Paul Kwon Clinical Advisor, PEO STRI US Army
Speaker
Michael Eldred Deputy Director, Directorate of Simulation, US Army Medical Center of Excellence US Army
3:30 PM HOW WARGAMING AND SIMULATION TRAINING ARE EVOVLVING TOGETHER
- Multi-Domain Operations in NATO
- What needs to be done to expand the use of wargaming
- How wargaming and synthetic training can be used together to enhance cumulative learning across the alliance in a campaign approach
- NATO’s Next Generation of Modelling and Simulation Programme
- How Australia is building out its wargaming program
Speaker
Colonel Stephen Banks Branch Head for Modelling and Simulation Learning Technologies NATO Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
Speaker
Colonel Nicholas Waldron Branch Head, Experimentation and Wargaming NATO Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
Speaker
Lieutenant Colonel Dave Hill Chair, Australian Defence Force Wargaming Association Australian Army
Moderator
Dr. Jim Blake PhD Former PEO STRI US Army
4:00 PM REVAMPING VIRTUAL FLAG TRAINING
- Specifications for virtual flag training
- How virtual flag training has been revamped
- High and low-side virtual events for BAMBOO EAGLE
4:30 PM USING SYNTHETIC TRAINING TO TRAIN THE NATIONAL GUARD
- The role the National Guard plays in training soldiers across the Department of Defense
- Synthetic training capabilities used by the National Guard
- The synthetic training capabilities the National Guard is looking to obtain
Moderator
Dr. Jim Blake PhD Former PEO STRI US Army
Speaker
Colonel Todd Hopkins Commander, Camp Blanding Joint Training Center Florida National Guard
5:30 PM CHAIRMAN’S CLOSING REMARKS AND END OF CONFERENCE
Dr. Jim Blake PhD Former PEO STRI US Army
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