IITSEC Opening Ceremony Makes History

Orlando, FL – Opening ceremonies for the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (IITSEC) this year will not only set the tone for the exposition, it will also set records.

For the first time in IITSEC’s history, two military service chiefs are scheduled to kick off the conference to the 17,400* registered attendees in person and online.

Admiral Michael M. Gilday, U.S. Navy Chief of Operations, and General David H. Berger, U.S. Marine Corps Commandant, will both address IITSEC’s theme, Innovating and Accelerating Training: Adapting to an Unexpected Future. Speaking on behalf of industry is the vice president and general manager for professional visualization, NVDIA, Bob Pette.

“The importance of training, simulation, and education to the military services is reflected by the fact that both the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps are speaking at I/ITSEC,” said retired Rear Admiral James Robb, NTSA president. “Having two service chiefs in attendance is unprecedented in the 55-year history of the event.”

The opening ceremony is scheduled from 8:15 – 10 a.m., November 30, in the Hyatt Windermere Ballroom, and can be livestreamed on the NTSA YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/NTSAToday.

Visit Team Orlando News for more about IITSEC 2021.

*Number of registered attendees confirmed as of November 25, 2021.

More about Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday

Adm. Mike Gilday is the son of a Navy Sailor. A surface warfare officer, he is a native of Lowell, Massachusetts, and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He holds master’s degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School and the National War College.

At sea, he deployed with USS Chandler (DDG 996), USS Princeton (CG 59), and USS Gettysburg (CG 64).  He commanded destroyers USS Higgins (DDG 76) and USS Benfold (DDG 65) and subsequently, commanded Destroyer Squadron 7, serving as sea combat commander for the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group.

As a flag officer, he served as commander Carrier Strike Group 8 embarked aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), and as commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and U.S. 10th Fleet.

His staff assignments include the Bureau of Naval Personnel; staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, and staff of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations. Joint assignments include executive assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and naval aide to the President.

As a flag officer, he served in joint positions as director of operations for NATO’s Joint Force Command Lisbon; as chief of staff for Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO; director of operations, J3, for U.S. Cyber Command; and as director of operations, J3, for the Joint Staff. He recently served as director, Joint Staff.

He has served on teams that have been recognized with numerous awards and is the recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (four awards), Legion of Merit (three awards), Bronze Star, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” and the Combat Action Ribbon.

Gilday began serving as the 32nd Chief of Naval Operations August 22, 2019.

More about 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David Berger    

Gen. David H. Berger assumed the duties of Commandant of the Marine Corps on July 11, 2019.

A native of Woodbine, Maryland, General Berger graduated from Tulane University and was commissioned in 1981. He commanded at every level – including a Reconnaissance Company; 3d Battalion, 8th Marines in Haiti during Operation SECURE TOMORROW; Regimental Combat Team 8 in Fallujah, Iraq during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

As a General Officer, he commanded 1st Marine Division (Forward) in Afghanistan during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM; I Marine Expeditionary Force; U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific/Fleet Marine Forces Pacific; and Marine Corps Combat Development Command.

General Berger’s staff and joint assignments include serving as Assistant Division Commander of 2d Marine Division; policy planner in the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, J-5; Chief of Staff for Kosovo Force (KFOR) Headquarters in Pristina, Kosovo; and Director of Operations in Plans, Policies, and Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration.

General Berger’s formal military education includes the U.S. Army Infantry Officer Advanced Course, U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and U.S. Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting. He holds multiple advanced degrees including a Master of International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

More about NVIDIA Professional Visualization Vice President and General Manager, Bob Pette

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Bob Pette holds degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Georgia and Mathematics from the University of Tampa.

Bob has more than 30 years of years of experience in visualization, high-performance computing, and multi-touch technologies. This includes 20 years of executive management roles at Silicon Graphics and a CEO position at Perceptive Pixel where he successfully steered the company through its acquisition by Microsoft. Prior to his position at NVIDIA, Bob served as CEO of TouchShare where he transformed the multi-touch hardware company into a SaaS software company focusing on geospatial collaboration and visualization.

Bob took on the role of vice president and general manager of Professional Visualization Products Group at NVIDIA in August 2015. In this role, he is responsible multiple NVIDIA platforms and technologies such as NVIDIA RTX, Omniverse Enterprise, advanced rendering technologies, virtualization, and CloudXR.