NDIA Great Lakes Chapter invites you to join us at our 13th Annual Meeting to be held in Wauwatosa, WI (Milwaukee).

Our Keynote Speaker this year is Brigadier General Geoffrey A. Norman, Director of Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team – Army Futures Command (AFC), Detroit, MI.

Attendees will have the opportunity to engage directly with Army Futures Command leadership and likeminded peers from industry-both from large and small businesses. The Army is currently undertaking the largest modernization effort of armored vehicles in the past 40 years. The Next Generation Combat Vehicles (NGCV) Cross Functional Team (CFT) is driving this effort and is actively seeking new ideas from industry, academia, and beyond. NGCV CFT is looking for innovative solutions that will support the Army’s NGCV using contracting methods to include SBIRs (Small Business Innovation Research) and OTAs (other transaction authority).

Speaker: Koreen Grube, Director, U.S. Commercial Service Wisconsin, U.S. Department of Commerce | International Trade Administration

Speaker: Rachel McCaffery, SVP of Membership & Chapters, NDIA Headquarters

Industry Panel: Supply Chain Risk with WS Darley, SupplyCore,  Oshkosh Defense & AAR

AGENDA

13:00 – Registration
13:30 – Matchmaking Sessions
15:00 – Reception: Hors d’oeuvres; Cash Bar
16:00 – Program Begins
—– Welcome / NDIA Great Lakes Year in Review
—– —– —– including STEM Scholarship Awardees and charitable efforts
—– National Update: Rachel McCaffery, SVP of Membership & Chapters – NDIA Headquarters
—– Update on CMMC: Matthew Frost, Government Contract Specialist, WPI
—– Industry Panel Session: Supply Chain Risk with WS Darley, SupplyCore, Oshkosh Defense, & AAR
—– Speaker: Koreen Grube, Director, U.S. Commercial Service Wisconsin, U.S. Department of Commerce | International Trade Administration
—– Keynote: BG Geoffrey A. Norman, Director of NGCV CFT – Army Futures Command (AFC) …bio below.
18:00 – Close of Program
19:00 – Close of Event

Visit the NDIA Great Lakes Chapter online at their webpage – CLICK HERE.

Brigadier General Geoffrey A. Norman is a native of Boulder, Colorado, and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Class of 1994. He is currently assigned as director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross-Functional Team at the Detroit (Mich.) Arsenal. The NGCV CFT is charged with leading the Army’s #2 modernization priority to develop and field future ground combat platforms.

His command assignments include Tank Platoon Leader, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, TX; Ground Cavalry Troop Commander, Apache Troop, 4th Squadron, 7th Cavalry at Camp Garryowen, Republic of Korea; Commander, 7th Squadron, 10th U.S. Cavalry, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson and Kuwait; and Commander, Task Force Sinai. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Commanding General – Support, 1st Infantry Division; and previously served as the Commander, 1ID (Forward), Operation Atlantic Resolve in Poznan, Poland.

BG Norman’s staff assignments include Battalion S-4, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, TX, and Squadron S-1; 4th Squadron, 7th Cavalry at Camp Garryowen, Republic of Korea; Executive Officer to the III Corps G3 at Fort Hood, TX and MNC-I CJ3 in Baghdad, Iraq; Executive Officer, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in western Baghdad; Executive Officer, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in northern Baghdad and Sadr City; Deputy G-3 (Operations), 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, TX; Deputy CJ3 for Regional Command East in Afghanistan; and Chief of Staff of the Multinational Force & Observers in Sinai, Egypt.

BG Norman’s assignments outside the operational force include service in Project Warrior as an Observer/Controller on the Cobra Team at the National Training Center Fort Irwin, CA and Armor Officers’ Advanced Course Small Group Instructor at Fort Knox, KY; G-3 for the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia; Division Chief for Soldier, Maneuver and Robotics in Headquarters, Department of the Army G-8, Force Development at the Pentagon, Washington D.C.; and ACofS G-3/5/7 and Director of Systems Integration for Army Futures Command in Austin, TX.

BG Norman is a graduate of the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, and the Cavalry Leader’s Course; the United States Army Command and Staff Services School and Command and General Staff College; the Joint Forces Staff College; and the Army War College. He holds Masters of Arts degrees in Management and Leadership and Strategic Studies.

BG Norman’s awards and decorations include Legions of Merit, Bronze Star Medals, Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medals, Iraq Campaign and Afghanistan Campaign Medals, Korea Service Medal, NATO Medal, MFO Medals, Valorous Unit Award, and Meritorious Unit Citations, Parachutist and Air Assault Badges, the Combat Action Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge. He has also been awarded the Polish Army Medal, MFO Director General’s Award, and Bundeswehr Parachutist Badge.

He is married to Dr. Stephanie Norman, a neonatal nurse practitioner, and they have two sons – William and Benjamin.

Colonel Rachel A. McCaffrey is the Vice President of Membership and Chapters for the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and the Executive Director of Women in Defense (WID).

Based in Arlington, Virginia, NDIA is a non-profit, educational association representing industry, government, and academia. Rachel leads the Membership and Chapters team, providing networking, knowledge, and business development opportunities to 1,700 corporate and 75,000 individual members. As the nation’s leading defense industry association, NDIA promotes collaboration to deliver cutting-edge technology, weapons, equipment, training and support to warfighters and first responders. Through events, divisions, regional chapters and three affiliate organizations, NDIA convenes ethical forums connecting experts from government, academia and the defense industry to define threats and design solutions to ensure U.S. and partner national security.

WID strengthens the Defense Industrial Base and workforce by promoting programming that creates and enhances opportunities for women, increasing diversity within the national security enterprise. WID’s twofold mission focuses on empowering women currently working in defense and encouraging talented young women to pursue careers in National Security. WID’s 22 Chapters include members from defense companies; all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces; government; academia; think tanks; associations; and professional services.

Rachel came to NDIA and WID after more than 28 years in the Air Force. In her last assignment, she led an Air Staff Division responsible for planning and programming Command and Control and Global Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). Prior to her Air Staff tour, Rachel served as the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Air Command at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. During her NATO tour, Rachel led the ISR Division for Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR where she oversaw more than 70 personnel who planned, executed, and evaluated ISR operations. Rachel also commanded the 9th Intelligence Squadron at Beale AFB and is a fully qualified Joint Specialty Officer, serving on the Joint Staff in the Intelligence Directorate.

A native New Englander, Rachel grew up in Central Massachusetts. In 1988, she graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and received her commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. She earned her Master’s Degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park. Rachel also attended the Intelligence Weapons Instructor Course, Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Army War College.