This blog is about the 2024 Modern Warfare Week, which took place in and around Ft. Liberty, NC, from 19 – 22 NOV. Read on to learn more about the event!
Global SOF’s fifth ever Modern Warfare Week (MWW) kicked off on 19 NOV 2024, with a mission to convene the U.S. Army SOF (ARSOF) and supporting communities to showcase technologies, discuss hot topics, and support local non-profits.
This was the BIGGEST ever Modern Warfare Week since its inception in 2018. This multi-faceted event includes a Symposium, Expo, and Demo Day–all of which are important and impactful in their own way.
The week featured senior leaders from U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), 1st Special Forces Command, and the Special Warfare Center, alongside over 1,300 attendees from many of our other SOF partners–including 11 Nations.
As one attendee said this week, “I’ve been to Iron Mike so many times and I expect the same thing…you guys did something different. I saw every customer I wanted to see walk in the door.”
The Exhibition had 80+ exhibitors, including cutting-edge industry, relevant non-profits, and plenty of booth “amplifiers” to bring the (caffeine) buzz to the ballroom.
And of course, one of the coolest components of MWW was Demo Day, which provided an opportunity to engage with 25+ companies showcasing new capabilities and putting them in the hands of our elite units.
If we learned one thing this week, it’s that war is constantly evolving and MWW is designed and executed to help educate current and future leaders. We strive to bring in great speakers and capabilities…read on to learn about how it went!
The Wednesday Sessions
Building an agenda for a SOF conference is a huge challenge–it’s a community with many demands and ever-changing timelines. That makes it all the more impactful when high-level and expert speakers take the time to join us at events and share their knowledge and experience.
The first full day of the conference kicked off with remarks from GSOF’s most excellent COO, Meaghan Keeler, followed by the day’s MC, Norway’s Magne Roedahl.
Brigadier General Cain Baker, Director of the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team at Army Futures Command, gave the event’s first keynote. He spoke of the Command’s “persistent experimentation,” and their encouragement of their units to “break” the current capabilities to get us to the next ridgeline.
The following panel, “Fighting with Friends: Partnered Operations for Today’s Battlefield,” hit on many unconventional warfare topics.
The speakers included:
- Commander (Ret.) Chris Deitz, U.S. Navy, Director of Federal Partnerships – USSOCOM & USCENTCOM, Janes Defense
- Colonel Shane Jones, Deputy Commander, 3rd Special Forces Group, U.S. Army Special Operations Command
- Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Flaherty, Commander, 6th Psychological Operations Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Blending old with new, the panel talked about how “PSYOP has been going back to basics and seeing the success,” while “Information Operations are the most contested space.”
Next up on the agenda was, “Catalyzing the Kill Chain: How Data Fuels SOF Operations.” This panel included:
- LTC Nicholas Frazier, AI Division Director, USASOC Force Modernization Center
- Mr. David Gibian, Chief Technology Officer, USASOC
- Adriana Avakian, CEO/Founder, TheIncLab
- Brian Raymond, Unstructured AI
While the ins and outs of data were a huge topic, speaker Ms. Avakian noted that, “interoperability remains a challenge, and it’s not just a technical problem, but a policy problem, too.”
After a busy networking lunch, we were very fortunate that an array of experienced military members agreed to give, “Vignettes from the Force: Innovating for Impact.” They spoke to current efforts with multi-domain irregular warfare capabilities, cognitive load, 3D printing, and more.
Mr. Dan Folliard, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer for U.S. Special Operations Command, also provided a keynote. A theme of his address is that we must move beyond the innovation phase and work to scale and iterate with industry more quickly…all while keeping in mind that interoperability and cyber security are absolutely essential. A recurring theme!
We closed out the main stage for the day with a session that was called “refreshingly candid.” “SITREPs from Ukraine” featured unique perspectives straight from the current battlefield in Ukraine. The speakers were:
- Captain (Ret.) Stephen Wisotzki, EVP Government, Defense, & Security, ClearSpeed
- Colonel (Ret.) Mykhailo Pinkevych, Main Inspectorate, Ministry of Defense, Ukraine
- Lito Villanueva
As one Active Duty military attendee said, from a military point-of-view, it was an “invaluable deep dive into the real situation on the ground.” It’s a good thing we had this session as a close-out, because the speakers had lines of attendees waiting to ask them follow-up questions long after the session ended.
We gave our attendees an opening to discuss everything they’d learned for the day during a networking reception in the Exhibit Hall. From whiskey tasting inside to the beer garden outside, there were many options to grab a snack or a beverage and check out what our exhibitors had to showcase.
We ended the evening with our first-ever in-person SOF Team Room, which we held right on our main stage at Modern Warfare Week. We co-host this event with the Military Special Operations Family Collaborative (MSOFC), and are very grateful for the support that they provide for our community. It was a small-but-mighty hybrid conversation about many important issues facing our special operators and our families. Learn more here.
The Exhibition
The exhibition at MWW is a GSOF fan favorite that sells out every year. Our partners in industry know that SOF is one of the most deployed forces in the US military; units have a lot of requirements, and they do not always have the time or money to attend events away from their HQs.
This exhibition may be relatively small, but due to the proximity to prestigious units, industry fights to get a spot in it and the capabilities displayed pack a big punch.
We work hard to max out the exhibit hall with valuable capabilities–this year those included UAV/UAS, maritime, comms, weapons systems, AI/ML, aviation platforms, and much more! We had exhibitors in every nook and cranny–including a covered outdoor patio, the parking lot, and exhibit hall ballroom.
Plus, our SOF Community Corridor featured 7 different SOF-focused non-profits stationed in the foyer. These organizations were all selected through an application process to grab one of our high-traffic spots and get their resources out to the attending servicemembers.
This year it featured Navy Mutual Aid Association, the Military Special Operations Family Collaborative, The Honor Foundation, Joint Special Operations University, SOF Network, Special Operations Association, and AAFMAA.
The exhibition was also tied to our GSOF Gives Back initiative for Modern Warfare Week, our program where we donate funds to organizations representing the community where we hold our events. After Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of North Carolina earlier this fall, we decided that this event’s donation would go to the North Carolina Community Foundation to aid in flood recovery.
We gave all of our exhibitors raffle tickets that they could reward to attendees for any meaningful interactions or engagements, and the exhibitors in turn could use those tickets to earn some prizes from GSOF. PLUS, we’re donating money to the NCCF for every raffle ticket turned in….and we’re happy to say that we’ll be donating $5,000!
New this year–the Iron Mike Conference Center allowed us to expand into the “cafe,” where we stationed 6 tables of soldier-led projects. Attendees were able to visit with the presenters and learn more about the problems and potential solutions that were top-of-mind for the force and look for potential to collaborate. It was great to see so many green-suiters on BOTH sides of the exhibition tables.
Check out our full list of exhibitors here.
We also need to give a quick shout out to Modern Warfare Week’s amazing sponsors…without whom many of our extra touches and features would not be possible. Thanks especially to GDIT and Bank of America for jumping in as SOF Champion sponsors…your consistent support is game-changing!
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