BUILDING READINESS FOR THE FUTURE FIGHT
October 28 - 29, 2025 I The Westin San Antonio North, San Antonio, TX
CONFERENCE DAY ONE | OCTOBER 29
Main Track
7:30 am - 9:00 am
Registration & Networking
8:30 am - 8:45 am
Boeing Welcome Remarks
Sponsored by: The Boeing Company
8:45 am - 9:00 am
CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock -
Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017),
US Air Force
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock
Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017)US Air Force
9:00 am - 9:30 am
OPENING REMARKS FROM THE AIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING COMMAND
Lieutenant General Brian Robinson -
Commander, Air Education Training Command (AETC),
US Air Force
- The commander’s vision for Air Force training
- How the Air Force plans to build curriculum to mitigate the pilot shortage
- The importance of partnerships in advancing Military Flight Training
Lieutenant General Brian Robinson
Commander, Air Education Training Command (AETC)US Air Force
9:30 am - 10:00 am
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FROM BOEING
Kevin "Proton" McLaughlin -
Executive Director, Navy Air Wing of the Future/Field Marketing Defense,
Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Sponsored by: The Boeing Company
Kevin "Proton" McLaughlin
Executive Director, Navy Air Wing of the Future/Field Marketing DefenseBoeing Defense, Space & Security
10:00 am - 10:30 am
THE FUTURE OF US AIR FORCE AND ITALIAN AIR FORCE TRAINING
Major General Gregory Kreuder -
Commander, Nineteenth Air Force, Air Education and Training Command (AETC),
US Air Force
Brigadier General Edi Turco - Chief of Staff of the Air Education Training Command / 3rd Air Region, and Head of the International Flight Training School (IFTS) Program Office, Italian Air Force
- Adapting to the new competitive landscape
- Using simulated settings to advance training
- Identifying ways to improve training
Major General Gregory Kreuder
Commander, Nineteenth Air Force, Air Education and Training Command (AETC)US Air Force
Brigadier General Edi Turco
Chief of Staff of the Air Education Training Command / 3rd Air Region, and Head of the International Flight Training School (IFTS) Program OfficeItalian Air Force
10:30 am - 11:00 am
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBITION HALL
11:00 am - 11:30 am
STRATEGIC PANEL DISCUSSION HOSTED BY BOEING – LEADING TRENDS, SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES WITHIN THE TRAINING PIPELINE ECOSYSTEM
Colonel Peter Lee -
Commander, 12th Flying Training Wing,
US Air Force
Eric Carney - Director; Strategy and Business Development, Lockheed Martin
Philip Senna - Director of Business Development, CAE
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock - Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017), US Air Force
- Understanding how predictive AI can help solve the pilot shortage and create personalized curriculums
- Discussing how to collect data to create proper training platforms
- Differentiating the AI needs of the military from popular open AI platforms
- Determining how synthetic training and live flying mix
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock
Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017)US Air Force
11:30 am - 12:00 pm
TRANSFORMING FUTURE FIGHTER LEARNING & TRAINING INTO THE SURROGATE FAMILY OF SYSTEMS
Major James Hickerson, -
Chief, Futures Development Branch,
US Air Force
- Transforming Future Fighter Learning and Training into the surrogate family of systems
- Discussing the upcoming needs of the surrogate family of systems including
- AI, ML, VR, and learning management needs
- Creating a new platform for embedded training
- International partnerships and engagements
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm
INDUSTRY INSIGHT SESSION HOSTED BY IPERFORMX
Michael Fetkyo -
CEO,
iPerformX
Christoph van Eupen - Head of Grob Training Systems, Grob Aircraft
Kevin "FDR" Delano - Program Manager, iPerformX
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
LUNCH AND NETWORKING IN THE EXHIBITION HALL
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
EURO-NATO JOINT TRAINING PROGRAM
Air Commodore Rob Caine -
Head of Flying Training, No 22 Group Directorate of Flying Training,
UK Royal Air Force
Brigadier General John Alexander - 2 Canadian Air Division Commander, Royal Canadian Air Force
Colonel Jeffrey Shulman - Commander, 80th Flying Training Wing, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT, US Air Force
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock - Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017), US Air Force
- Training in contentious times as conflicts heighten in Ukraine and the Middle East
- Results from the new syllabus and three-dimensional environment training
- Creating synthetic environments to create environments happening in current conflicts
Air Commodore Rob Caine
Head of Flying Training, No 22 Group Directorate of Flying TrainingUK Royal Air Force
Colonel Jeffrey Shulman
Commander, 80th Flying Training Wing, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPTUS Air Force
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock
Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017)US Air Force
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
FURTHERING COLLABORATION BETWEEN MILITARIES AND INDUSTRY
Brigadier General John Alexander -
2 Canadian Air Division Commander,
Royal Canadian Air Force
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock - Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017), US Air Force
- Lessons learned from successful and unsuccessful partnerships
- Structuring contracts to include incentives and understanding how both parties can feel like they are maximizing the partnership
- Educating soldiers on how to successfully work with industry partners
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock
Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017)US Air Force
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
INDUSTRY INSIGHT SESSION HOSTED BY GROB
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
ITALIAN AIR FORCE: EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF AVIATORS
Lieutenant General Silvano Frigerio -
Commander of the Italian Air Force Education and Training Command,
Italian Air Force
- The commander’s vision for ItAF training
- Education and Training: finding efficiency through the use of new technologies
- Recruiting and retention: facing the challenge
Lieutenant General Silvano Frigerio
Commander of the Italian Air Force Education and Training CommandItalian Air Force
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBITION HALL
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm
SUSTAINMENT IN THE AIR FORCE
Colonel G. Hall Sebren Jr. -
Deputy Commander, Air Force Sustainment Center,
US Air Force
- Software priorities to enhance the sustainment process
- Solutions to F-35C sustainment as costs are higher than expected
- Navigating the sustainment process
4:30 pm - 5:00 pm
TRAINING FOR AIR DOMINANCE AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS
Colonel David Skalicky -
Commander, 33rd Fighter Wing,
US Air Force
Colonel Jeff McMaster - Deputy Commander, 27th Special Operations Wing, US Air Force
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock - Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017), US Air Force
- How air dominance training is shifting towards competency training
- Understanding the complexities of air dominance training for aircrafts like the F-35 Lightning II vs. undergraduate aircrafts
- The importance of increased joint, combined exercises and unilateral training to enhance readiness, sharpening our skills and increasing interoperability with the joint force and our partner nations.
- Developing our Air Commandos by nurturing a culture of continuous learning, professional development, and mentorship spanning the continuum of warfare from competition to conflict
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock
Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017)US Air Force
5:00 pm - 5:30 pm
USING EMERGING TECHNOLOGY FOR MAINTENANCE TRAINING
John Sowder -
Business Operations Support Chief, Electronics Maintenance Group, Ogden Air Logistics Complex, Hill Air Force Base,
US Air Force
- Creating virtual reality classrooms for introductory training
- Using AI to develop courses in order to reduce course creation time
- Developing a collection of trainings for out of classroom learning
John Sowder
Business Operations Support Chief, Electronics Maintenance Group, Ogden Air Logistics Complex, Hill Air Force BaseUS Air Force
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm
BIOMARKER AND NEUROMODULATION DISCOVERY FOR COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT AND STRESS RESILIENCE
Dr. Gaurav Sharma -
Chief Scientist of the 711th Human Performance Wing, Air Force Research Laboratory,
US Air Force
- How human performance is being accounted for in pilot training
- Determining metrics for human performance in pilots
- Advancement in human performance training for pilots
Dr. Gaurav Sharma
Chief Scientist of the 711th Human Performance Wing, Air Force Research LaboratoryUS Air Force
6:00 pm - 6:15 pm
CHAIRMAN’S CLOSING REMARKS AND END OF CONFERENCE DAY ONE
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock -
Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017),
US Air Force
Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Anthony J. Rock
Inspector General U.S. Air Force (2016 –2017)US Air Force
