Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers will be speaking at the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s 2005 Industry Symposium next month.

The two-day symposium, scheduled for the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center on April 5, is designed to raise industry’s awareness and set the stage for rapid solutions to joint war-fighting challenges.

&uot;The symposium is the opportunity for JFCOM to reach out to industry and tell them our needs in order to help prepare, equip, and train the joint warfighter, said Lt. Jim Krohne, spokesman for USJFCOM. &uot;Industry Day is Joint Forces Command’s biggest event of the year and represents a significant engagement between JFCOM and industry.&uot;

Several new Joint Force programs will be introduced at the event, he added.

Presentations and panel discussions will focus on joint command and control military requirements, training, experimentation, and integration efforts and challenges.

The command is working to increase its partnership with industry and the Industry Symposium is an opportunity to exchange information, said Navy Capt. Robert Milburn, the event’s organizer.

&uot;This is the centerpiece of our outreach to inform industry of what we need to support the warfighters,&uot; said Milburn.

Command officials have a &uot;plethora of information, ideas, challenges, and joint war-fighting goals&uot; that they want to share, he said.

&uot;This event is a chance for industry to see the whole picture, not little snippets of what each directorate wants,&uot; said Milburn. &uot;It’s our chance to say, ‘here’s what we can do, how can you help?’&uot;

Other confirmed speakers include USJFCOM Commander, Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani; Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Simpson, USJFCOM’s Requirements and Integration director; Army Col. Michael Bradley, USJFCOM’s Joint Systems Integration Command commander; and Alex Urrutia, USJFCOM’s Joint Battle Management Command.

and Control director.

Question-and-answer sessions will follow each presentation.

For more information, or to register for the Industry Symposium, visit the Hampton Roads chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association at http://www.ndia-ghrc.org.

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com