By Joseph P Cirone

NSAW Public Affairs

Active duty, reserve and retired military personnel, civilian government officials, representatives of foreign embassies, and civilians from industry and academia from around the world will converge in Prince Georges County, Md. to attend the annual Navy League of the United States (NLUS) Sea-Air-Space Exposition, being held May 4-6.

After more than 40 years in the nation’s capital, this year’s expo, the largest maritime exposition in the world, shifts from Washington to a new venue on the Potomac River at the recently opened Gaylord National in nearby National Harbor, Md.

The expo features senior defense officials, more than 150 defense industry exhibits and professional seminars with top civilian and military leaders from DOD, Homeland Security, the Maritime Administration and the defense industry. It provides an excellent opportunity to interact with industry and defense colleagues and promotes the professional development of the naval workforce, according to senior Navy officials.

Top naval leaders to speak

A NLUS statement claimed the event attracts approximately 10,000 attendees, offering a forum for the exchange of technical and professional information between civilians, military leaders and the maritime industry to help foster better understanding of user requirements and provider issues.

This year’s theme, “National Security-Maritime Superiority-Global Presence,” includes panel sessions, lunch and dinner speakers and showcases national and international exhibits of the latest in sea power technology. It spotlights innovative systems and products designed to maintain U.S. military superiority and to meet critical national security challenges at home and abroad, the officials said.

Acting Secretary of the Navy B. J. Penn,  CNO Adm. Gary Roughead; Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen; Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway; Adm. Johnathan W. Greenert, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Vadm. William Crowder, deputy CNO for operations, plans and strategy; and the Honorable William J. Lynn, III, deputy secretary of defense are among the naval leaders scheduled to speak at the expo.

 

Attendance strongly encouraged

 

Attendance is free, strongly encouraged and should be considered as professional development, according to an e-mail released by a senior Navy official. The expo qualifies as a widely attended gathering, making events connected with the expo considered to be “Training beyond maintenance of professional credentials…,” and enabling naval personnel to attend “…In their official capacities and on government-funded orders, subject to their supervisor’s discretion,” according to a determination made by the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

Not open to the public, the expo is intended for military personnel, U.S. government employees, Congressional members and staffs, and NLUS members and their invited guests.          Free shuttle bus service is being provided between the Washington Navy Yard, Navy Annex, Pentagon, Crystal City and Coast Guard Headquarters. Busses operate frequently throughout the expo. Online registration, detailed bus schedules and more information is available at www.seaairspace.org.

Funded by sponsorships and exhibition fees, revenue generated by the expo is used to support NLUS programs in support of the sea services, including public, community and congressional education efforts; award and recognition programs for Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel. With more than 60,000 members in 250 NLUS councils across the United States and overseas, Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen benefit from the NLUS’ Sailors of the quarter, adopt-a-ship or -base programs, ship christenings and commissionings, ship visits, homecomings, scholarships and other programs. More information is available at www.navyleague.org.

A Washington Navy Yard based U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps cadet maneuvers a the ship approaching a sailboat, while at the helm of a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) simulator at the 2008 Sea-Air-Space Expo. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Joseph P Cirone