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AETC Symposium sets attendance record

  • Published
  • By Capt. John Severns
  • AETC
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  More than 3,300 people attended the 2009 Air Education and Training Command Symposium held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio last week, an increase of more than 1,000 from the previous year, event officials said. 

The symposium featured nearly 100 academic seminars on a variety of Air Force topics, a technology exposition hosted by the Alamo chapter of the Air Force Association, and a formal ball.

"Many of our seminars were filled to capacity and then some," said Col. Brett Morris, seminar director for the Symposium. Some of the most anticipated seminars -- including "American History Lessons for AFRICOM" and "The Coming War with China?" -- proved so popular that late-coming Airmen could only stand in the back. 

Colonel Morris's own seminar, on the differences between American and Arab cultures, was forced to start early when the room filled up 15 minutes before its scheduled start time. 

"The response from Airmen to these seminars was overwhelmingly positive," he said. "The wounded warrior seminar was filled to capacity, and more than 100 people attended a video replay of the seminar afterward." 

One popular seminar, "What Avatar will James Bond Choose?" demonstrated the value of a well-chosen title. It actually focused on the Air Force's virtual 'Huffman Prairie" learning facility in Second Life and other virtual enterprises, and not as much on the fictional British spy. 

In addition to the symposium, Airmen were able to view and interact with more than 100 vendor and unit demonstrations at the AFA Exposition, which filled the convention center's cavernous exhibit hall. 

Capt. Matthew Butler, Expeditionary Training Flight commander for the 342nd Training Squadron at Camp Bullis, was at the expo to show off parts of the Air Force's new expeditionary training courses. 

"Airmen need to be able to survive on the ground in hostile areas," Captain Butler said. "Being out here is a chance for us to raise awareness of the ground capabilities our Airmen are being trained in." 

Those ground capabilities -- demonstrated by the massive M-915 tractor truck that dominated his booth -- complimented the aerial capabilities demonstrated elsewhere at the expo, the captain said. The M-915 is used to train Airmen in the 342nd's Basic Combat Convoy Course, to prepare them for logistics convoys in Iraq. 

Other displays included demonstrations by the technology giant L-3 and the consulting firm Accenture, puppies from the DoD Military Working Dog School at Lackland AFB, and Air Force-themed vehicles, ranging from the Air Force's NASCAR car to an F-16 painted in the Thunderbirds' color scheme. 

After the seminars wrapped up and the exhibition shut down on Jan. 16, more than 1,100 people attended the AETC Ball, the command's largest formal event of the year. 

Gen. William M. Fraser III, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, was the keynote speaker at the ball. 

Planning for the next symposium is already underway. Dates have been set for January 14-15, 2010, and a call for symposium papers will go out sometime next week.