Peters to Keynote Mission Readiness Event

The Patuxent Partnership asks: What are the greatest challenges to mission readiness? Join the group for a full day of speakers and panel discussions on Tuesday, April 16, to explore readiness, sustainment, and moving forward together.

VADM Dean Peters, the NAVAIR commander, will give the keynote address, “Addressing Readiness: A View from NAVAIR.” He will start at 8:15 am.

From 8:45 to 9:15 am hear an address by RADM Roy Kelley titled “The Flight Line Trial.” RADM Kelley is the commander of the Naval Air Force Atlantic.

Event sponsors include Lockheed Martin, Bell, Smartronix, Adobe, Andromeda Systems Inc., KBRwyle, Leidos, Naval Systems Inc. (NSI), Sabre Systems Inc., PCMG, and RTR Technologies.

The event will be held at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland at 44219 Airport Road in California, Md. Register here.

From 9:30 to 11 am, a discussion titled “Elements of Sustainment” will include:

• Engineering, Reliability Control Board, Aircraft on Ground (AoG Cell) – RDML Shane Gahagan, PEO (T)
• Industry/Commercial Benchmarking – Tom Rudowsky, SES, Assistant Commander for Logistics and Industrial Operations, NAVAIR
• Supply – Capt. Mike York, SC, USN; Director, Aviation Operations, NAVSUP WSS
• Maintenance – RDML Michael Zarkowski, Commander, Fleet Readiness Center (COMFRC)

Lunch will be held from 11 am to noon, and will include opportunities for networking and to see a variety of exhibits.

The first panel discussion will be held from noon to 1:30 pm. The discussion is titled “Mission Readiness: Pushing Boundaries & Exploring Possibilities,” and will be moderated by Mr. Rudowsky, SES, Assistant Commander for Logistics and Industrial Operations, NAVAIR.

Panelists include:

• Brian Hirschman, Boston Consulting Group
• Chris Holder, Research and Engineering (AIR 4.0) lead for COMFRC
• Bill Taylor, SES, Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation, HQ-USMC
• Capt. Mike York, SC, USN; Director, Aviation Operations, NAVSUP WSS
• Rear Adm. Michael Zarkowski, Commander, COMFRC

A discussion titled “Surveying the Readiness Landscape: Emerging Global View” will begin at 1:30 pm. The discussion includes:

• RADM Stephen Tedford, Vice Commander of NAVAIR, talking about Navy Sustainment System
• Rich Bomhold, Director SV2020, talking about Sustainment Vision 2020

The second panel of the day will begin at 2:30 p.m. and is titled “Confronting Readiness Challenges: Connecting Dots & Disciplines to Get There.” The moderator for the panel will be Brian Frank.

Panelists include:

• Garry Newton, SES, Deputy Commander, NAVAIR
• Candy Chesser, SES, Director, Logistics Management Integration, NAVAIR
• Tony Cifone, SES, Deputy Assistant Commander for Research and Engineering, NAVAIR
• Roy Harris, SES, Deputy Commander, FRC

Mr. Newton will give the closing remarks, “Moving Forward and Improving the Numbers,” at 4 pm, and a reception will follow at Taphouse 1637 after the event.

About The Patuxent Partnership

TPP fosters collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and expertise across a diverse network that includes government, industry, and academia. TPP also supports STEM education and workforce development within the local community including hosting programs of interest to NAVAIR, NAWCAD, and the broader DoD community.

To learn more about The Patuxent Partnership and its programs, visit its Leader member page.