Charleston to host one of the first in-person major defense conferences

The 14th Annual CDCA Defense Summit is scheduled to take place Dec. 7-9 in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. – One of the largest defense conferences in the southeastern U.S. will return in-person and is scheduled to take place this December in Charleston, the Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA) announced Thursday.

The 14th Annual CDCA Defense Summit is scheduled for Dec. 7-9 and is hosted by the CDCA at the Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston. The event focuses on command, control, computers, communications, cyber defense, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, information warfare and more.

The summit brings together leaders from government, military, academia and businesses to spark ideas, innovation and discuss solutions to current and future challenges. Several hundred businesses are typically represented each year, while thousands of people attend and work the event. This year’s conference is expected one of the best-attended since its inception.

“Nothing really beats face-to-face interaction, which is why we’re excited about returning to an in-person event, which brings the best and brightest leaders from the private sector, military, government and academia together,” said April Nadeau, president of the CDCA. “Based on the level of interest we are seeing, this looks like it is going to be our best-attended conference so far, as we think people are excited to finally get out and network again.”

In addition to exhibit demonstrations, keynote addresses, innovation spotlights and high energy technology exchanges, the annual conference typically attracts some influential leaders. Former speakers and attendees have included Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Tim Scott, Rear Admiral Christian Becker, Lt. Gen. William Bender, Lt. Gen. General Dennis Crall and many more.

This year, among the long list of accomplished speakers, Rear Admiral Douglas Small, Commander of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, and Rear Admiral Kevin Lunday, Deputy for Material Readiness of the U.S. Coast Guard, are two of the many key leaders who are scheduled to attend and speak.

Some of the CDCA’s leading sponsors and members include Akima, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI International, GRSi, KBR, Life Cycle Engineering, McAfee, Quest Public Sector, Rubrik Federal, SAIC, Sentar, and WR Systems.

Those interested in sponsoring or attending the conference can learn more by visiting charlestondca.org/cdca-summit-14.

The annual summit in Charleston is geographically positioned close to the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic and between U.S. Cyber Command in Maryland, U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Virginia, Joint Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Army Cyber Command in Augusta, Georgia, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command in Florida. As a result, it has grown into one of the largest defense leadership summits in the eastern U.S.

In addition to the annual summit, the CDCA hosts quarterly small business and industry outreach initiative (SBIOI) symposiums throughout the year.

-CDCA-

About Charleston Defense Contractors Association:
The Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA) supports the defense community in the Charleston metro area, South Carolina and the Southeast U.S. The CDCA advocates to preserve, strengthen, and grow the Charleston defense industry through partnership and collaboration with stakeholders and our community. The CDCA represents its members with the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and other Government agencies in the area and surrounding regions and provides input on issues and initiatives to the broader community, such as education, small business mentoring, and congressional affairs.

-##-

For all news and industry media related inquiries, please contact our PR firm at 813.279.8335 or by emailing news@judgepr.com