MAY 2014 PEO STRI's Dr. Jim Blake Retires May 31 A Letter from Dr. Jim Blake, PEO STRI
After 38-plus years of combined military and civilian service, I recently announced my decision to retire from federal service, effective May 31, 2014, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share some parting words with the Team Orlando community, a group of colleagues who’ve been instrumental in the preparedness of our armed forces.
May 13 U.S. Army PEO STRI PALT Meeting 9 to 9:45 a.m., P3, Room 321 PM TRASYS PALT Meeting 9 to 9:45 a.m., P3, Room 321 U.S. Army PEO STRI & NAWCTSD Small Business Information Forum Initiative (SBIFI) Meeting 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., P3, Room 321
Joining the Army as a private in 1968 and ultimately rising to the rank of colonel, the Army’s afforded me tremendous opportunities to serve our NAWCTSD PALT Meeting great nation. 1:30 to 3 p.m., P3, Room 321
Team Orlando Members Visit and Learn at FLETC Headquarters By Dolly Rairigh Glass
Just last week, on the heels of the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s partnership with Team Orlando, members of the Team Orlando Board of Directors (BOD) visited FLETC’s home site in Glynco, Ga., giving them the opportunity to meet some of the additional members of the FLETC team, as well as witness the amazing training systems resulting from the Team Orlando-FLETC partnership. The FLETC serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for more than 90 federal agencies or Partner Organizations, and its mission is to “train those who protect our homeland.”
Valencia Holds Roundtable on Possible M&S Degree Just last month, representatives from academia, industry and government met at Valencia Community College (Orlando, Fla.) for a roundtable to discuss the possibility of creating a degree in Modeling and Simulation as a bridge from high school to an M&S graduate degree. The collaboration day idea spawned from a discussion between Valencia’s Dean of Engineering, Computer Programming and Technology, Dr. Lisa Macon, and Dr. Nasser Hedayat, Assistant Vice President for Career and Workforce Education. They were talking about the possibility of future development of a Bachelors Degrees in the area of Engineering and Technology.
May 20-22, 2014 ITEC Cologne Messe Cologne, Germany http://www.itec.co.uk/ndia June 11-12 TSIS www.ndia.org June 14 Army Ball www.ausa-sunshine.org July 30 Summer Team Orlando Industry Capability Day 8:00 am - 1:00 pm, P3, Room 321 www.simulationinformation.com August 22-24 MT3/HEATT (Medical Technology, Training & Treatment/Healthcare Education Assessment Training & Technology) Rosen Shingle Creek http://halldale.com/heat September 3-5 GameTech Conference www.gametechconference.com December 1-4 I//ITSEC Orange County Convention Center www.iitsec.org
Team Orlando Hosts Foreign Officers Courtesy of Michelle Milliner, ARL-HRED STTC
On April 22, Team Orlando hosted a group of 25 foreign liaison officers led by Commodore Menhinick, RAN. The group, representing 22 different countries, is assigned to the U.S. Central Command and serves as part of the coalition forces, operating alongside our troops within the CENTCOM area of responsibility. The day opened with a welcome and briefing by Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division Executive Officer, CAPT Wes Naylor, and was followed by a working lunch, briefings by Team Orlando and Army/Navy Foreign Military Sales, and tours conducted by University of Central Florida Institute for Simulation & Training, and the Army Research Lab Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC).
NAWCTSD and Industry Continue Working Together for Improvements By Dolly Rairigh Glass
It was fall of 2011 when the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) and the Central Florida Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association (CFL-NDIA) Integrated Process Team (IPT) signed a charter officially documenting its goal to improve the strength of the relationship between NAWCTSD and industry. It was a follow on to the meetings that were already taking place between NAWCTSD and industry, and a way to formalize the commitment by each side and really set goals and objectives for outcomes.
DID YOU KNOW? Why GameTech Started and What To Expect in 2014 by Terri Bernhardt
What began as an Army-focused conference on the application of gaming technology for training and learning needs, has morphed into the premier venue to discuss the current state of gaming technology. The first GameTech Conference took place more than seven years ago at Joint Base Lewis-McCord (Tacoma, Washington) which drew a tight niche of 35 attendees with Dr. James Blake, PEO for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (STRI) who served as their keynote speaker.
NAWCTSD’s Bergondy-Wilhelm Knew Science Was Her Calling
Pete Marion, Customer Support Executive for PEO STRI (at the By Dolly Rairigh Glass time), was the founder and led It’s pretty rare for young people to know exactly what they want to do the growth and diversity of when they grow up. Sometimes they don’t even make that decision until they are entering college, or even halfway through college. But for GameTech up until his retirement in 2012. During his leadership Maureen Bergondy-Wilhelm, she knew from a very early age that she with the conference, Marion saw loved science and wanted to be a scientist. the need for a single forum Bergondy-Wilhelm, a self-proclaimed Navy brat, is the Director of Research and Technology Programs at Naval Air Warfare Center Training dedicated to the military application of commercial game System Division (NAWCTSD), and one could say she’s living out her technology for training and dream. education of Department of Defense (DoD) service members. "GameTech was founded on the Team Orlando Gets Opportunity to See New Capabilities premise that military members By Dolly Rairigh Glass sharing their experiences, identifying training gaps and The Spring Team Orlando Industry Capability Day presented by interacting with the game National Center for Simulation was another opportunity to bring developers and vendors would industry together with government to talk about the newest produce faster military relevant capabilities in the market today for a variety of products and games for training rather than the services, like medical mannequins, customized training and virtual classical acquisition system," worlds. Marion said. April 16 was the second Industry Capability Day in 2014, and more than 200 people attended to about what the fourteen participating companies had to offer. Some of those companies had local presence, while others traveled to take part in the event.
UCF Cyber Defense Team Takes First in Nation By Dolly Rairigh Glass
Just last month the Team Orlando 10-4 shared the news that UCF’s Cyber Defense Team had won the 2014 Southeastern Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition for a second consecutive year. With that title, they advanced to the Raytheon National Collegiate Chapter Defense Competition, which took place April 25-27, and they emerged as the national champions, beating nine other regional winners to win the Raytheon National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition.
NCS Teeing Up for June Golf Tournament As part of the ongoing celebration of its 20th anniversary, National Center for Simulation will partner with Congressman Lou Frey, and the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at UCF, for the 2014 Scholarship Fundraising Golf Tournament on June 30 at the Interlachen Country Club. All proceeds will benefit the Vince Amico Scholarship to UCF, the Hank Okraski Scholarship to Daytona State College, and the Lou Frey Institute at UCF.
Interagency Mobile Learning Webinar Series 2014 – May 20-22 Courtesy of ADL
The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, along with several other Government organizations, is hosting the 2nd Interagency Mobile Learning Webinar Series on May 20-22. Register to hear the latest from an esteemed list of speakers presenting on mobile learning success stories and challenges; learning design and development for mobile; and emerging mobile technologies and concepts. Attend any or all of presentations over the 3-day series from the comfort of your office – no travel required.
When Marion retired, GameTech's leadership transitioned to Lt. Gen (RET) Tom Baptiste and the National Center for Simulation. Year after year, the conference's growth is an indicator of being the stop-all interservice and industry conference which emphasizes key elements such as: serious games, virtual worlds and mobile technologies and the advancement of their use within the DoD. GameTech 2014, Inspire, Play, Learn, is preparing a diverse agenda with top-quality speakers addressing unique trending topics. Registration is open and the exhibit hall is filling quickly. Save the date: September 3-5, Rosen Shingle Creek. www.gametechconference.com.
Respectfully submitting for Team Orlando: Terri M. Bernhardt Editor Dolly Rairigh Glass Contributing Editor
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“An Introduction to the Experience API (xAPI)” Workshop – June 17 Sign up now for this free workshop to be held at the ADL Co-Lab in Orlando. Participants will learn about this powerful and versatile new way to describe learning and capture information about learning experiences that can provide data to drive performance improvement. The one-day workshop will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17. Space is limited, so register today. Questions? Email Karen Murgas or call (407) 208-5057.
PEO STRI Source Selection Improvement Group The Program Executive Office Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Acquisition Center Source Selection Advisory Team (SSAT) invites our Industry partners to participate in the newly created Source Selection Improvement Group (SSIG) forum. The SSAT is initiating the SSIG forum with our Industry partners with the sole purpose of encouraging constructive exchanges related to the source selection process. The intent is for both Government and Industry to work together (in focus groups) to meet this purpose and to benefit from the inherent knowledge, experience, and lessons learned that each participant brings to the table.
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