Welcome to the 2009 Defense Manufacturing Conference (DMC), our biggest and best ever! This year, under the leadership of the United States Navy as the lead service, we are building on the continuously evolving and expanding DMC venue by addressing our selected theme: “Government-Industry Leadership for Affordable Defense Systems.” We plan to emphasize the potential to realize the benefits of this collaboration by exploring a number of different types of service case examples where leadership collaboration involving the successful development and timely application of manufacturing technology enabled successful service program (and warfighting capability) outcomes. These case examples, resulting from recent initiatives, will be reviewed in light of new administration defense and other agency industrial base policies, acquisition processes and innovative manufacturing science and technology initiatives…all articulated by the new leaders in these respective areas.

The power of, and challenges to, collaboration will also be evident as we continue to use the DMC as the flagship defense manufacturing technology forum for exchanging ideas, assessing technical project progress and dealing with the challenges of the many new and traditional defense industrial base issues across the services and agencies. Thus, we have significantly expanded the DMC to make Thursday a full-day program to accommodate new topics requested in the prior year’s feedback. Some of these, in addition to our traditional venues, include:

• Systems engineering/manufacturing integration
  
• Alternative and renewable fuels
  
• “Green” manufacturing
  
• Pre-acquisition manufacturing technology involvement (OSD and GAO perspectives)
  
• Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Materiel Shortages (DMSMS) & Standardization
  
• Perspectives of congressional staffers supporting industrial base related programs authorization and appropriations process
  
• Defense Production Act (DPA) and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
  
• And much, much more…

If you are a part of the Defense Industrial Base leadership and technology community, we are confident you will not be disappointed that you decided to attend the 2009 Defense Manufacturing Conference. As we proceed through the conference, please make note of the value of the program from your perspective and candidly offer your assessment and ideas for future improvement via the electronic evaluation process that is available to you.