President's Message
Vice President Message to NTSA and I/ITSEC Constituents
What an exciting column to write! My first I/ITSEC. On 3 June of this year, I was selected to become the new President of the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA). I am very proud to be at the helm and to continue the wonderful initiatives and accomplishments of our former President, the late RADM James Robb USN (Ret.), as well as to accelerate progress charting my own course to maintain a positive trajectory for the Modeling, Simulation and Training technology workforce. As many of you know, I have joined a small, yet high performing team truly committed and dedicated throughout the year to planning, organizing, and executing seven conferences and/or events in direct support of the modeling and simulation industry and our membership. I/ITSEC, the grandest of them all, continues to be the key focal point to bring together Government, Industry, and Academia in furtherance of leveraging advances in modeling and simulation technology to improve human performance through training.
I come to NTSA after 40+ years of commissioned service in the United States Navy. I was fortunate enough to have begun and concluded my service serving as the 63rd Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. I am proud to continue to serve our nation in a new capacity that directly contributes to our national defense as well as to improve the delivery of safe care in the medical industry by improving training through modeling and simulation.
RADM Robb passionately encouraged teamwork and open communication and fostered a strong sense of unity among the NTSA staff, all while keeping the focus on the customer. His professional legacy includes a strong NTSA team and an I/ITSEC committee of over 300 volunteers. A keystone achievement during his presidency was the continued expansion of the NTSA Scholarship program. At I/ITSEC 2024 we continue that expansion by awarding 22 total scholarships. NTSA will award $175,000 for six Bachelor’s degrees, five Master's degrees, and eleven Ph.D. scholarships to a group of highly qualified and motivated candidates. Through RADM Robb’s leadership, NTSA expanded its commitment to growing the modeling and simulation technology workforce. He established priorities to serve and attract underrepresented students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). These programs help teachers integrate hands-on strategies to support children and youth learning complex STEM concepts to help inspire the next generation workforce of the simulation and training community. This initiative will also continue to be vigorously supported and expanded.
What is in store at I/ITSEC 2024?
The lead services this year are the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Along with the phenomenal volunteer I/ITSEC leadership, headed by Conference Chair Jim Threlfall and Program Chair Fred Fleury, the service teams have been diligently planning throughout the year to ensure a top-notch conference. The 2024 theme that will thread through each special event, paper presentation, and tutorial is Assuring Deterrence Through Integrated Training and Readiness – The Time is Now!
Tuesday, 3 December will bring our opening ceremonies to the Hyatt Regency Orlando. The Honorable Carlos Del Toro, our 78th Secretary of the Navy, will deliver our late morning opening ceremony Keynote Address. In addition, we have the honor of having our naval services represented for the early morning Fireside Chat to kick off our opening ceremonies. Admiral Christopher W. Grady, our 12th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will participate in a moderated Fireside Chat Tuesday at 1400 in the Orange County Convention Center. Rick Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer at Tipping Point Solutions, Inc. will serve as this year’s Industry Keynote. And to top off the first day, this year’s Senior Leader Panel will include senior representatives from U.S. Military Services, OSD, and International Allies. Many other uniformed and civilian senior leaders from OSD and all five services have confirmed. We have a strong international contingent attending, and the team is tracking record numbers of Flag, General Officers, and Senior Executive Service speakers.
I want to personally thank the 300 volunteers that make I/ITSEC happen, and especially our Conference Chair, Jim Threlfall, and our Program Chair, Fred Fleury. They have provided solid support and leadership to not only I/ITSEC, but to me personally and I thank them for that. They, along with the conference subcommittees, put hundreds of hours into the planning and execution of the program and can take credit for the incredible content that you will enjoy. Visit IITSEC.org to review the program; you will be impressed, and then download the mobile app to plan your visit, search I/ITSEC 2024 in your Apple or Google app store to download.
On the webinar front, we had a very exciting event in November that brought together the Service Executives to discuss their plans and expectations for I/ITSEC. It was a powerful hour, and the recording will be available online at NTSA.org/Events. There will not be a webinar in December.
Please let me or any member of the NTSA team know how we can help; we are here to serve.
VADM Sean S. Buck, USN (Ret.)
President, NTSA