This blog is part of a series about the 2025 Modern Warfare Week, which took place in Ft. Bragg, NC, from 17 – 20 NOV 2025.
See more blogs in the series here.
2025 Modern Warfare Week (or MWW–you know we love our abbrevs) is taking place from 17 – 20 NOV on and around Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It’s intended to gather the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community for four days of vital discussion, innovative showcases, and crucial networking.
With the U.S. government closure freshly in our rear-view, the Global SOF team is thrilled to bring together this military and government audience, proving that MWW remains the premier event focused on the future of warfare on Fort Bragg.
From the new USASOC Command Team’s first public remarks to Accelerator Alley’s innovative pitches to the groundbreaking tech available in the exhibition hall…here is a detailed recap of the first two days of 2025 Modern Warfare Week.
Laying the Foundation
MWW’s importance is significantly magnified by its strategic location near critical SOF commands, including U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and 1st Special Forces Command (1SFC), ensuring maximum engagement with the community we serve.
By hosting the event in Fayetteville, NC, MWW ensures that cutting-edge capabilities are showcased directly to the operators and decision-makers in the command structures responsible for acquiring and deploying them.
To make that all happen, the Global SOF team puts in a lot of work…starting with year-round planning focused on industry participation, agenda building, and government engagement…and culminating in the onsite execution!
The pack out crew – no Stu!
Phase 1 always starts with “Operation STU-Haul”… although Stu has long retired himself from this duty, the name lingers. He doesn’t even help pack anymore–evidence included below in the pack-out team photo.
A few lucky members of the team drew the short straws to drive the supplies up I-95, while others crossed fingers that the recent airport “struggles” were wrapped up.
Fortunately, our team all arrived in Fayetteville safe and sound–and it sounds like many of our 1,000+ pre-registered attendees did, as well!
The Modern Warfare Week formula shifted to the left this year…we pushed the Welcome Reception to Monday night so that Demo Day could take place on Thursday, allowing for more convenient weekday travel.
The less-convenient side of that formula is that set-up day was really just set-up hours. Luckily, our team knows the Iron Mike Conference Center and all of our vendors pretty well at this point, so we were able to use the Monday morning hours to get registration rolling, prep for our 100+ exhibitors to arrive, and get all of our stage rooms up and running!
We’ve added more pieces than ever before into Modern Warfare Week, so it took some tetris to get all of the pieces in place, but we were on time and on target to open up for some new sessions added to Day 0:
- SOF for Life Seminars: Expertly led by our SOF for Life Manager, Surita Rorie, these critical sessions, which continued on Tuesday, are designed for service members and their spouses that are getting ready to leave active duty service.
- Health and Human Performance Working Group: This GSOF and Military Special Operations Family Collaborative (MSOFC) interactive meeting brought together 30+ industry professionals and partners to explore the creation of a Health and Human Performance (HHP) Committee at GSOF.
Global SOF’s Joe Fitterer said, “turn out was great and people stayed in the room discussing well after the session was supposed to end! There will definitely be an official committee, this train ain’t stopping.”
500+ People On “Day 0”
Besides the draw of some of our new Day 0 sessions, the afternoon brought representatives from 100+ exhibitors to the sold-out show floor, prepping their booth spaces for the opening on Tuesday. There are definitely some new added highlights that we’re excited for attendees to see, ranging from a Mixed Reality medical simulator to an Unmanned Ground Vehicle to specialized UAVs.
Plus, Accelerator Alley is an exciting program Global SOF launched at this year’s SOF Week, which features dual-use technologies new to the SOF market. We transformed the Iron Mike Conference Center Cafe into a fresh addition to the exhibit hall, with capabilities like Mixed Reality combat simulator, AI-enabled processing, and predictive analysis tools.
You can see the full list of Exhibitors on our website (as long as there isn’t a global CloudFlare outage…because yes, that happened!) and on the event mobile app.
Day 0 culminates in the Modern Warfare Week Welcome Reception at the Gaston Brewing Taproom, providing an early opportunity for military, government, and industry professionals to connect and network before the symposium officially began.
We’ve hosted this event at Gaston Brewing for multiple years now, but this was the clear standout as the best year yet. Our steadfast sponsors at Bank of America welcomed attendees at the door with swag, Hui Huliau provided an on-brand BlueRoom Hawaiian Cocktail, and Google Public Sector hosted a whiskey tasting with Veteran-owned and operated BHAWK.
With the temperatures on the brisk side, especially for those of us hailing from Florida, the firepit was a popular hangout spot to trade introductions and war stories, and of course the BBQ menu was a huge hit.
All told, we were well over 500 “checked in” attendees by the end of the reception… prepping us to kick off the first day of full sessions smoothly on Tuesday.
People, AI, and the Future of ARSOF
The Tuesday morning main stage sessions kicked into high gear, and the IMCC was buzzing with discussions focused on the future of warfare from a SOF perspective.
The day began with a Networking Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall, sponsored by our partners at Mass Virtual, setting the stage for a week of collaboration.
On the literal stage, three impressive women prepared the crowd for the day ahead. Ms. Meaghan Keeler, COO of Global SOF, provided Welcome Remarks before introducing the day’s Emcee, Ms. Jessica Gronert from Leidos and the Greater Tampa Bay Chapter of Women in Defense.
Jessica impressed the crowd from the jump–knowing all the material back to front and of course, adding in her own pizzazz and insights throughout the day to keep the room lively.
The first major session was a critical Senior Leader Conversation: The Future of ARSOF, moderated by impressive woman #3: Dr. Lyla Kohistany, the President and Co-Founder of PROMOTE as well as a GSOF Advisory Council member.
Lyla guided the conversation and helped the standing-room-only crowd gain direct insight from the new U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) Command Team: Lieutenant General Lawrence G. “Gil” Ferguson and Command Sergeant Major David Waldo.
Lt. Gen. Ferguson, who, as he stated on stage, is “on Day 5 of the job,” emphasized that his focus is squarely on People and Warfighting. He stressed the foundational purpose of USASOC: to provide a combat-ready force for the Geographic Combatant Commands (GCCs), and outlined four essential requirements for the command:
- Produce ARSOF;
- Prepare for missions (be combat capable);
- Provide ARSOF; and
- Transform.
CSM Waldo backs this strategic vision, highlighting the operational necessity for smart systems and fast decisions—the very capabilities that AI promises to deliver. He noted that success demands “persistence, iterations… that gets us to a place where we see through the chaos and data saturation.” The CSM expressed his excitement to work with soldiers, noting their enthusiasm, ingenuity, and overwhelming trust in the formation.
Plus, it included a great lightning round on some more light-hearted topics, like SEC vs. Big 10, getting into the heads of today’s youth, and who they would like to trade lives with for a day!
After the command team ended their first-ever public remarks in their new roles, the focus immediately shifted to the “technological edge” with a Fireside Chat on AI for the Warfighter. LTC Nicholas Frazier, the AI Director for the Officer of ARSOF Autonomy, and Dr. Ben Van Roo, CEO of Legion, discuss how AI platforms are being employed to accomplish multiple tasks.
CSM Waldo’s comments from the previous session resonated here, as the panel acknowledged that smart systems and fast decisions are what AI delivers to the military. The speakers addressed the difficulty in training and doctrine keeping pace with rapid technological change, noting that training isn’t yet close to understanding and accounting for the magnitude of change brought on by AI applications.
Following an engaging Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall, the agenda split into concurrent breakout Hot Topic sessions:
- MEDCAP 101: Dr. John E. Padgett, US Special Forces (Ret), defined Medical Civic Action and the Medical Civic Action Patrol (MEDCAP) in terms of Special Operations.
- Using Business as a Force Multiplier: This session, featuring Dr. Viva Bartkus and Lieutenant General (Ret) Charles Cleveland (Former Commanding General, USASOC), explored how business engagement can amplify force effectiveness. The discussion centered on the assessment of an experiment where USASOC, business schools, and industry teamed up in Honduras with the goal of creating jobs and economic success to achieve security goals.
Acceleration, Donation, and Resonation
The afternoon kicked off with a Networking Lunch, which gave attendees time to get a good look at the indoor, outdoor, and patio Exhibit Halls, plus take a spin of Accelerator Alley, all while enjoying a hearty buffet (that steak though).
The Exhibit Hall was so packed, our Partner Relations Managers were struggling even to get to their Corporate Partner Exhibitors to say hello… guess they’ll have to try again tomorrow!
After lunch, Global SOF took a few minutes to recognize a great local organization: Friends of Civil Affairs, an organization dedicated to supporting the welfare and morale of the Active Duty Civil Affairs soldiers and their families.
Through our GSOF Gives Back program, we donated $7,500 to their cause–it was an honor for our team to present them with the “big check” on stage.
Following that kodak moment, it was time for an exciting last-minute addition to the agenda: a Keynote from Mr. Christopher Mamaux, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Global Partnerships.
The DASD spoke about the U.S. commitment to achieving “peace through strength” within a complex security environment, which forms the basis of the “America First” strategy. Key areas of focus include reviewing all foreign assistance programs, totaling $36 billion, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS), to align them with current administration priorities. To ensure success in defense acquisition and partnerships, the strategy relies on five pillars:
- Stabilizing the demand signal;
- Prioritizing commercial solutions first;
- Empowering program leaders (i.e. with the creation of PAEs);
- Driving urgency with wartime production; and
- Removing burdensome bureaucracy.
Additionally, there is an intention to begin awarding longer-term contracts.
After the enlightening acquisition-focused keynote, the next stage action was the first ever Accelerator Alley Speed Pitch Session, led by longtime friend of GSOF and Skillbridge Intern, LTC soon-to-be-Retired John Toll. Even with some quick changes of speaking order (due to the presenters being too deep in conversation at their booths), he didn’t miss a beat. There may be a post-Army career path for John, after all!
Attendees were able to see and hear about technologies aligned directly with USASOC priorities… and it worked, because after the presentations ended, the Accelerator Alley booths were “bumpin’.”
Back on stage, the Global SOF team was proud to see our COO back in the hot seat, this time helping bring a global perspective into focus with a Fireside Chat on Irregular Warfare Across the Globe. Brigadier General Jose Jesus C Luntok PA, Commander of the Light Reaction Regiment, Special Operations Command, Philippine Army, joined her to provide critical international insights into operational environments. BGen Luntok provided real-time into Philippines strategic shift from internal security to a focus on territorial defense.
The final speaker of the day was the ever-engaging Mr. Derek S. Maltz, Senior Vice President of Global Business Growth and Strategy at Penlink and former Director of the DEA’s Special Operations Division. He concluded the general sessions with a vital keynote addressing the Growing Threats from Transnational Organized Crime networks and related Crime and Terror Trends.
Reflecting on Day 1
The intensive day of learning and connection culminated in a robust Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall, ensuring that thoughts and feedback about the sessions could transition into conversations.
The Exhibition Reception was generously sponsored by IQT, a global investment platform that accelerates the introduction of groundbreaking technologies to enhance the national security and prosperity of America and its allies.
We were also excited to give a longtime Global SOF friend and supporter, Mr. Mark Grdovic, a platform to showcase his new book, Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance. We hope you were able to get a signed copy over by the GSOF booth in Accelerator Alley.
Day 1 of MWW served as a crucial engine for the SOF community: where the human element (people and warfighting) met the digital element (smart systems and AI) in a synchronized effort to address complex global threats…much like a warfighter fuses input from multiple sensors to achieve unmatched situational awareness.
Ok… AI wrote that last part, but we think it sounds pretty good!
We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow, Wednesday, 19 NOV, for a powerful Day 2. Check out the complete agenda (and the Attendee Tracks) to plan your day!
Leave a Reply