First article in the 2016 CPAG series
CPAG Chair, Mike Genetti, welcomes attendees to the 2016 Defense Forum Breakfast.

CPAG Chair, Mike Genetti, welcomes attendees to the 2016 Defense Forum Breakfast. Photos courtesy of NAWCTSD/PEO STRI.

As the modeling and simulation market continues to grow in the greater Orlando area, so does the number of industry representatives who attend the annual Combined Professionals Associations Group (CPAG) Defense Forum Breakfast.

Every seat at this year’s event, hosted by Women in Defense – Central Florida and the Marine Corps Foundation, was filled, and attendees were anxious to hear Team Orlando leadership talk about the expectations for the coming year.

CPAG chairman, Dr. Michael Genetti, thanked former CPAG chairman Jerry Stahl for his three years of service, and honored the “driving force” behind the CPAG, Fred Eisele, who passed away last summer.

“CPAG helps various organizations within the community coordinate their activities and facilitates synergies between organzations,” Genetti said. “The Defense Forum Breakfast is the only CPAG event, and it occurs in early January each year. It provides each of the Services in Orlando the opportunity to tell us what they see ahead in the coming year.”

The 2016 CPAG speakers were Col. Walt Yates, Program Manager for Training Systems (PM TRASYS); Col. Brad Crites, Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS); Col. Tim Wallace, Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) and Capt. Wes Naylor, Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD).

Naylor: NAWCTSD, partners will lead the way on Sailor 2025 transformation project
Capt. Wes Naylor

Capt. Wes Naylor gave a brief overview of Sailor 2025,an agenda that directly supports the CNO’s goal of improving the velocity of learning inside the Navy. Photos courtesy of NAWCTSD/PEO STRI.

Naylor, commanding officer for NAWCTSD and NSA Orlando, began his presentation by reviewing some changes in Navy personnel, including an upcoming change of command in April that will make current Executive Officer, Capt. Erik Etz, the new commander for NAWCTSD. Naylor commented positively on his almost four years at NAWCTSD, and that he has thoroughly enjoyed serving the Navy as NAWCTSD’s leader, saying that he expects great things from Etz and feels confident that he will continue to guide NAWCTSD as they continue to excel within the Team Orlando and Central Florida communities.

Like the other speakers, Naylor noted that cyber security is something that is a focus area for the Navy, as are Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC), intelligent tutoring, the Navy N1 Effort, Multi-Purpose Reconfigurable Training System (MRTS), and Sailor 2025.

The hottest topic was the Sailor 2025 initiative, which allows the Navy to focus on a reasonable timeline for training the next generation of sailors, including adapting and changing learning. And because training is such a huge piece of that, NAWCTSD will play a vital role in helping to execute it in future years. With a current business base of $1.17B and the impending needs for Sailor 2025, Naylor said he only sees this area growing.

“Sailor 2025 is an agenda that directly supports the CNO’s goal of improving the velocity of learning inside the Navy,” Naylor said. “NAWCTSD has been engaged by the Navy to help develop the initial six pilot rates that will form the model for learning modernization inside the Ready, Relevant Learning pillar of Sailor 2025. I am confident that both NAWCTSD and our industry and academic partners will lead the way in this transformation project for the Navy.”

Naylor also spent some time talking about the Multi-Purpose Reconfigurable Training System (MRTS), a family of trainers that provides a virtual training environment simulating a variety of shipboard systems. Each trainer consists of government-owned simulation software running on a stand-alone network of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software components.

“The potential for the MRTS 3D system to provide training is practically unlimited,” Naylor said.

Naylor concluded by reviewing his team’s work to improve NAWCTSD’s communication channels. Aside from PALT, TSIS, and I/ITSEC, team members will continue to attend CPAG meetings, as well as other speaking opportunities, and are happy to schedule one-on-one meetings for industry members who may have an interest in that opportunity.

“Diana Teel is our team member that oversees industry outreach, and I encourage you to reach out to her and get to know her if you don’t,” Naylor said. “She is knowledgeable, as well as helpful. You can email her at ORLO_IndustryOutreach@navy.mil.”

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