Federal and Defense Textile Summit

SESSION SUMMARIES

Dialogue, Military and Industry: The Future of Textile Technologies, Innovation and New Product Development. This session will focus on the future of advanced textile technologies and their application to textile-based individual and organizational equipment and the soldier as a system. Military panel members will highlight known future requirements and the advanced textile technologies expected to address those needs. Business panelists will discuss specific, recently-developed technologies expected to meet known DoD priorities. Finally, representatives of industry associations will highlight member businesses' emerging research and development activities in both woven and nonwoven technologies expected to meet as-yet unforecasted DoD requirements. Dialogue with industry and military audience partners is encouraged, with the goal of identifying the "art of the possible" for advanced textile technologies to enable and enhance the equipping, enabling, protection and sustaining of the future warfighter.

  • Speakers:
    • Laurra Winters, Director, Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility
    • Kenneth Ryan, Division Chief, Protection Equipment Division, DEVCOM Soldier Center Soldier Protection Directorate
    • Davis Warlick, Executive Vice President, Parkdale Mills
    • Bill DiIanni, Director, Research & Development at Elevate Textiles
    • Zane Vogel, CEO/President, Spiritus Systems, Advanced Textiles Association
    • Mark Snider, Chief Market and Industry Analyst, Association of Nonwoven Fabrics Industry
    • Jesse S. Jur, Ph.D., Director of Technical Program Development, AFFOA

Dialogue, Military and Industry: Workforce, Inflation, Supply Chain and Other Market Forces Impacting Acquisition and Delivery of Clothing, Textiles and Tactical Equipment to the Military. This session will focus on having a frank and collegial dialogue about how industry and DOD can together embrace best practices to replenish and sustain our fighting forces. This can best be accomplished by understanding each other’s challenges.

  • Speakers:
    • Steve Merch, Director of Supplier Operations, Defense Logistics Agency, Clothing and Textiles
    • Ashley Bullock, Government Sales Manager, Burlington Industries/Elevate Textiles
    • Amy Bircher, CEO & Founder, MMI Textiles
    • John Oswald, President/CEO, Mills Manufacturing

Military Service Dialogue with Industry will discuss current and programmed future requirements, acquisition processes and current and future acquisitions, and will dialogue with industry about production capacity and challenges for products within various commodity categories, as outlined below. Speakers and industry may also dialogue about priorities, production challenges and opportunities to integrate advanced technologies into products within these commodity sectors.

  • US Army, PEO Soldier & Special Operations
    • Colonel Derek Bird, Project Manager Soldier Survivability, US Army PEO Soldier
    • Andra Kirsteins, Division Chief, DEVCOM Soldier Center Soldier Protection Directorate
  • US Navy & Marine Corps
    • Captain (Sel) Terri Gabriel, Deputy Commander, Navy Uniforms, Navy Exchange Service Command
    • Laurra Winters, Director, Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility
    • Joseph Augustine, Product Manager, Clothing & Equipment, Marine Corps Systems Command
    • Tara Capecci, Aircrew, Flight Deck and Maintainer Clothing, Human Systems Department (AA23200), Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division
  • US Air Force & US Space Force
    • Colonel James Jenkins, Change Management Team Director, US Space Force
    • Tracy Roan, Chief, US Air Force Life Cycle Management
    • Don Lee, PM for Acquisition, US Air Force Life Cycle Management

DLA Commodity Focus.  DLA will discuss programmed future requirements,acquisition processes and current and future acquisitions, and will dialogue with industry about production capacity and challenges for products within various commodity categories, as outlined below. Speakers and industry may also dialogue about priorities, production challenges and opportunities to integrate advanced technologies intoproducts within these commodity sectors.

  • Dress & Combat Clothing, Accessories. Dress uniforms: coats, trousers, slacks, skirts and poly/wool uniform fabric. Outerwear: all weather coats, Navy jumpers, coveralls, dress jackets and dress headwear. Shirts: dress shirts and blouses; ecclesiastical supplies; heraldics; and mattresses and bedding and camouflage uniforms, headwear and uniform treatments; physical training uniforms; and accessories: belts, buckles, bags, liners, neckwear, undergarments and towels.
    • During this session there will be a DLA Virtual Remote Inspection Demo.  Augmented reality technology which allows live in-house inspection at a production facility.  Interaction between the Vendor and DLA Troop Support Product Test Center (PTC) allows real time interaction, reducing weeks of sample in-transit time, inspection at PTC and hard copy communication of inspection results. This project is in its pilot phase to working interactivity with clothing and textile vendors in presenting real time data including lot formation, sample selection, and physical testing of produced items.
    • Speakers:
      • Randy McArthur, IST Chief/Contracting Officer, Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Clothing & Textiles
      • Roxane Owen, IST Chief/Contracting Officer, Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Clothing & Textiles
      • Jamie Hieber, Product Test Center Analytical Lab Manager, Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support
      • Uraina Gray-Scully, Supervisor, Shade & Support, Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support
  • Individual Equipment, Safety, Tentage, Shelters and Environmental Clothing. Individual equipment: hard and soft body armor, load bearing equipment and individual equipment items. Safety items: ballistic, flight and vehicle crewman helmets, helmet components and flight safety gear. Tentage: tents, shelters, tarpaulins and components.
    • Speakers:
      • Jen Scarpello, Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Clothing & Textiles
  • Chemical and Special Purpose Clothing, Gloves and Wet Weather Gear and Footwear. Chemical and Special Purpose Clothing: flight, flame resistant, and chemical protective clothing, US Forest Service clothing, multi-climate clothing, coveralls, flight uniforms, field coats, and neck gaiters; Gloves and Wet Weather Gear: flight, flame resistant, protective, combat, utility, multi-climate and touchscreen gloves, US Forest Service gloves and chaps, disposable gloves, dress gloves, RCP coveralls, liners, parkas, wet weather trousers, welder’s items, tape, webbing, and miscellaneous items; Footwear: combat, safety and extreme cold weather boots, dress shoes, and athletic footwear.
    • Speakers:
      • Tanya Lockley, Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Clothing & Textiles