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Regional Nations, Industry Leaders Attend Communications Conference

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090416-17
Release Date: 4/16/2009 3:15:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan Schaeffer, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Top U.S. military, government, civilian and information technology industry leaders in the communications field as well as representatives from seven nations in the region, including Bahrain, attended the inaugural Gulf Region Communications Conference April 12–14 in Manama, Bahrain.

The conference, sponsored by U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), provided a forum for senior communicators to discuss telecommunications and information exchange as a mechanism to support regional security, stability, economic development and global commerce.

"We are extremely pleased to co-host this groundbreaking engagement opportunity," said Capt. Gerard Slevin, NAVCENT's assistant chief of staff for communication and information systems. "The diverse attendance from our regional partners, U.S. military and information technology industry leaders will set the stage for increase interoperability in the Gulf region. The most important aspect of this forum is to develop and build enduring relationships."

The conference included guest presentations from John Giusti, acting chief of the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) International Bureau, Dr. Vinton Cerf, vice president of Google, Ronald Spears, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Business Solutions, Dr. Shygan Kheradpir, executive vice president and chief information officer of Verizon Communications, Roger Halbheer, chief security advisor, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa of Microsoft, Brad Boston, senior vice president, chief information officer of Cisco Systems, and Alan Horne, deputy general, Telecommunications Regulatory Agency, Kingdom of Bahrain.

"There is already a great deal of cooperative activity in this region. However, more cooperation and multilateralism is necessary for us to obtain real interoperability," said Lt. Gen. John Allen, deputy commander, USCENTCOM. "We can attempt to do many things together from exercise to joint operations, but if we can't communicate, our effectiveness is seriously reduced."

The conference's theme focused on enabling regional participation through multilateral cooperation and included roundtable discussion on communications support of military operations in an urban environment, communications to support regional stability and security and communications to support economic growth and development.

"I've always believed from my time at USCENTCOM that it's critically important that we build relationships, we understand the issues, we learn how to cooperate and work together toward our mutual goal of stability and development in the region," said retired Gen. Anthony Zinni, Gulf Region Communications Conference roundtable moderator. "I am glad that this conference went beyond just the military, and USCENTCOM took on the issue of communications in its widest need, not only in economic terms, but in our political relationships as we try to communicate across cultures."

Conference participants also included representatives from the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Secretary of Defense, USCENTCOM, Joint Chiefs of Staff J-6, U.S. Army Central Command, (USARCENT), Multi-National Force-Iraq, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Communication.