Gen Cartwright speech brings Strategic Space and Defense 2006 to a close

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 12, 2006) — Gen James E. Cartwright, USMC, commander, United States Strategic Command, was the featured closing speaker today at the Strategic Space and Defense 2006 conference held this week at the Qwest Center Omaha Convention Center and Arena in Omaha, Neb. The Space Foundation and Space Newspresent the conference each year to address both the space-related and strategic missions of the United States Strategic Command. More than 2,000 people participated in various aspects of the conference. Gen Cartwright addressed the value and necessity of space assets to our national defense, saying, “You have to be in space or you’re going to be disadvantaged,” while also indicating that our partners and allies need to be part of the solution set. “The conference this year addressed the growing need for international cooperation on many levels,” remarked Elliot G. Pulham, Space Foundation president and chief executive officer. “This level of dialogue really fosters relationships and promotes mutual understanding between the Command, leaders in D.C., and the aerospace community all in support of America’s strategic forces.” Strategic Space and Defense 2006 opened Tuesday, Oct. 10, with a performance from GRAMMY award-winning group The Manhattan Transfer with The Omaha Symphony, and continued through Thursday, Oct. 12. The conference included two full days of featured speakers and panel sessions, two luncheons, an exhibit center, and a closing reception. More than 300 local Nebraska and Iowa students from Bellevue East High School, Bellevue West High School, King Science and Technology Magnet Center, Lathrop Elementary Magnet, La Vista Junior High, Masters Elementary School, Millard North Middle School, Montclair Elementary School, Papillion Junior High, and the Science Research and Innovation Center toured the exhibit center as part of a Space Foundation educational outreach program to inspire, enable, and propel the next generation of explorers. Additionally, the Space Foundation hosted a Space Career Fair Tuesday for college students, transitioning military, and entry-level aerospace personnel to meet exhibiting aerospace and defense companies. Speakers at Strategic Space and Defense 2006 included two congressmen, congressional staff members, senior executive leaders from the aerospace industry, a broad representation of leaders from within the Command and throughout the armed forces, and international leaders, including the senior space official in the Indian Air Force. Panel topics addressed during the conference were

• Intelligence for Our Strategic Forces
• International Perspectives – Strategic Security Through Alliances
• Commercial Applications for Emerging Strategic Threats
• Operationally Responsive Space, Missile Defense and Prompt Global Strike – Strategic Capabilities for Combatant Commanders
• Iraq, Afghanistan and the Global War on Terror – Frontline Views of the Command Chiefs
• Operational Impact – Programs, Budgets and Capitol Hill
• JFCC Roundtable – ‘Purple’ Solutions to Executing STRATCOM’s Missions

For a complete program agenda, and speaker, exhibitor, and sponsor lists, visit www.StratSpace.org. Strategic Space and Defense will return to the Qwest Center Omaha Oct. 9-11, 2007. Featured speakers were The Honorable Terry Everett, chairman, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, House Armed Services Committee, United States House of Representatives; Gen. James E. Cartwright, USMC, commander, United States Strategic Command; The Honorable Dr. Ronald M. Sega, under secretary of the Air Force; Mr. Wes Bush, president and chief financial officer, Northrop Grumman Corporation; Ms. Joanne Maguire, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space Systems; Lt Gen Frank G. Klotz, USAF, vice commander, Air Force Space Command; Lt Gen. Robert Kehler, USAF, deputy commander, United States Strategic Command; LTG Larry J. Dodgen, USA, commander, United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command/ United States Army Forces Strategic Command and Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense; and Maj Gen William L. Shelton, USAF, commander, 14th Air Force. The opening ceremony and the reception were co-sponsored by Lockheed Martin Corporation and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Other sponsors of Strategic Space and Defense 2006 were AirLaunch, Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI), ATK, the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, The Boeing Company, Booz Allen Hamilton, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), CSP Associates, Inc., Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Company, and Sterling Computers, a Sun iForce partner. The Space Foundation is a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Colorado Springs that advances civil, commercial, and national security space endeavors and inspires, enables, and propels tomorrow’s explorers. The Space Foundation has offices in Washington, D.C., and Cape Canaveral, Fla. For more information, visit www.SpaceFoundation.org. Space News is the premier business-to-business international news weekly dedicated entirely to the commercial and military space and satellite communications’ businesses. For more information, visit www.space.com/spacenews.