Hampton Roads is on its way to becoming a key player in the nation’s modeling and simulation industry.

Defense modeling and simulation (S&M) -the use of computer simulations to make warfare more efficient and effective-has taken off in northern Suffolk over the last decade. Since the U.S. Joint Forces Command opened in the mid-1990s, a growing number of defense contractors have opened in and around the city.

Today, technology from the modeling and simulation industry-which created 4,000 jobs in Hampton Roads last year – is expanding far beyond the lucrative military work.

&uot;While the industry grew out of the Defense Department, today its scope and influence increasingly reaches well into the development of technologies in industries such as finance, entertainment and medicine,&uot; said U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes during Tuesday’s roundtable forum at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center.

Forbes was joined by a who’s who of local, state and federal government officials, including Secretary of the Navy Gordon England, and other representatives from the military, Old Dominion University and the modeling and simulation industry.

Tuesday’s forum is a follow-up to Forbes’s newly formed Congressional Caucus on Modeling and Simulation, which held its inaugural meeting on Capitol Hill last month.

&uot;Modeling and simulation is on the verge of breaking out of the defense industry and into the everyday lives of Americans,&uot; said Forbes. &uot;As we encourage M&S to enter our daily lives in practical application, the industry grows in significance and continues to push the boundaries of technology.&uot;

One of the biggest challenges facing the M&S industry is finding a qualified high-tech workforce, said officials.

&uot;We have run out of folks to hire,&uot; said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. James Soligan, chief of staff at the U.S. Joint Forces Command.

&uot;We are bringing in people from around the country…and we need to make this a place people want to come.&uot;

Hampton Roads localities can help by putting in the infrastructure and amenities that will appeal to the prospective employees and employers alike, he said.

For example, the area needs to put the electronic architecture in place to compete with similar regions, like northern Virginia.

The area also needs to offer quality schools, an affordable cost of living and a good transportation system that will appeal to newcomers, Soligan added.

&uot;This has great potential but it is not going to happen by itself,&uot; he said. &uot;It has got to be a community drive.&uot;

Hampton Roads has what it takes to compete with other regions rich with M&S industries, such as Orlando, Fla., said Buck Marr of Lockheed Martin.

The company’s new $35 million facility in Harbour View

will be opening next month.

&uot;You have the joint community customer base,&uot; said Marr. &uot;Hampton Roads is the net-centric capital for the Department of Defense.

&uot;We need skilled subject matter experts,&uot; he said. The large of military retirees living in the region could be a great asset to solving the problems, he added.

He recommended approaching the matter from a business prospective, by doing market and competitive analyses.

&uot;In the final analysis, business is going to look for a return on its investment,&uot; he said.

He recommended the area look to Orlando-where 64,000 worked in the M&S industry last year -as a model for its growth.