Defense maintenance personnel honored during DoD symposium

The 2010 Department of Defense Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition, administered by SAE International, attracted a record number of attendees and brought together key leaders and maintainers throughout the Department of Defense and commercial industry to discuss maintenance, technology, sustainment operations, and materiel readiness.

Held November 15-18 in Tampa, Fla., the event attracted 1,595 registrants – the highest in the history of the event – representing a 14 percent increase over 2009 figures.

Featured speakers included the Honorable Frank Kendall, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; James Roy, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force; and Andy Hove, Executive Vice President and President, Defense, Oshkosh Corporation. Gary J. Motsek, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Program Support) served as the event's Chairman.

The event also included an interactive "Senior Logisticians' Roundtable," a Q&A session in which attendees posed a variety of questions regarding maintenance to senior military logisticians from each of the military services, the Joint Staff, and major Defense agencies.

Additionally, Alan Estevez, Principal Deputy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, hosted the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards Banquet, where the DoD's highest awards for maintenance of weapon systems and equipment were presented. Highlights include:

• The Phoenix Trophy, which honors the top maintenance unit of the year, was awarded to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 40.  
• The Emergent Repair Program at Pearl Harbor Navy Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, United States Navy, was named winner of the Robert T. Mason Award for Depot Maintenance and Excellence — the pinnacle of depot maintenance achievement and recognition.
• Six finalists highlighted promising new technologies, processes or business practices in the Great Ideas Competition. The winner was Ken Anderson and Bryan Steadmen, Intermittent Fault Detection and Isolation System.
• Several other types of awards were presented during the symposium, such as the Great Ideas Competition winner and winners of the "Best in Show" Booth Awards.  
• The exhibition, which included more than 170 exhibitors, featured the "Best in Show" Booth Awards. This competition invited attendees to vote for the booth believed to be the most exceptional in two categories: displays of 200 square feet or less and displays of greater than 200 square feet. There was a separate competition among the Military Service display areas judged by the most senior military logisticians in attendance. Winners were USMC – TMDE (200 square feet or less), Big Ass Fans (greater than 200 square feet), and USMC (military booth).

The 2011 Department of Defense Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition will be held from November 14-17 in Fort Worth, Texas. Visit www.sae.org/dod for more details, including the 2011 Exhibit Prospectus.

SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion and the Collegiate Design Series.