The Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff of the Army, and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army top the list of senior U.S. Army leadership participating in sixteen 30-minute Q&A sessions during the 2009 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 5-7, 2009 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the District of Columbia.

The scope of each press conference will focus on the Institute for Land Warfare (ILW) panel discussions taking place each day of the AUSA Annual Meeting. In most cases the senior panel lead and one or two subject matter experts from the respective ILW panel will participate in the press conference. For your reference the ILW panel title is provided for each of the below listed press conferences.


Press Conference Schedule (Room 140B):

Monday, Oct. 5th

(8:30 - 9:00 a.m.) Aviation Update: Maj. Gen. James R. Myles, Commanding
General, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command; Maj. Gen. James O. Barclay
III, Commanding General, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, Brig. Gen.
Walter L. Davis, Director of Army Aviation, and Brig. Gen. Crosby, Program
Executive Officer, Aviation.

(9:00 - 9:30 a.m.) Light Utility Helicopter UH-72 Update, COL Neil Thurgood, Army Project Manager, Mr. John Burke, (EADS LUH Project Manager).

(9:30 - 11:15 a.m.) Opening Ceremony (Secretary of Defense Robert Gates guest speaker) - Media may view in Room 140B.

(11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.) Honorable John McHugh, Secretary of the Army & Gen. George Casey, Jr., Chief of Staff, Army (Joint Press Conference)

(11:45 - 2:00 p.m.) Sergeant Major of the Army Luncheon (Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff, Army guest speaker) - Media may view in Room 140B.

(4:15 - 4:45 p.m.) Lt. Gen. Stephen Speakes, Deputy Chief of Staff, HQDA G-8 (Resources) ILW #2, Panel Title: Army Modernization Approach: Building Versatility for Full Spectrum Operations.

(4:45 - 5:15 p.m.) BG Rhonda Cornum, Director, Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, Deputy Chief of Staff G-3/5/7, HQDA, ILW #1, Panel Title: Building Resiliency in Soldiers, Families, and Civilians.


Tuesday, Oct. 6th

(9:00 - 10:00 a.m.) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Task Force ODIN.

(11:00 - 11:45) Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific Command.

(11:45 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Eisenhower Luncheon (Gen. Casey, Chief of Staff,
Army guest speaker) - Media may watch in Room 140B.

(2:00 - 2:30 p.m.) Maj. Gen. Rodney Anderson, Director, Force Management, HQDA, G-3/5/7. ILW #3 Panel title: Army of the 21st Century.

(4:00 - 5:30 p.m.) CENTCOM UPDATE: Gen. David Petraeus, Commander,
U.S.Central Command Room 207 A&B (Media may watch in Room 140B)



Wednesday, Oct. 7th

(8:00 - 9:00 a.m.) Lt. Gen. Robert Durbin, Special Assistant to the Secretary of
the Army and Director, Enterprise Task Force; Gen Ann Dunwoody,
Commanding General, Army Materiel Command; Mr. Jerry Hansen, Performing
duties of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations &
Enviornment; Mr. Mark D. Rocke, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army
for Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. ILW#5 Panel title: Adapting Our
Institutions - The Enterprise Approach to ARFORGEN (Army Force Generation).

(9:00 - 10:00 a.m.) Lieutenant General Benjamin C. Freakley, Commanding
General, United States Army Accessions Command, Fort Monroe, Virginia; Major General Arthur M. Bartell, Commanding General, United States Army Cadet Command, Fort Monroe, Virginia; Major General Donald M. Campbell, Jr., Commanding General, United States Army Recruiting Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky; Dr. Naomi Verdugo, Assistant Deputy for Recruiting, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Washington, D.C. The group will discuss the 2009 success in recruiting and ROTC, MAVNI, and officer-ship campaign.

(10:00 - 10:30 a.m.) Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff, Army.

(10:30 - 11:00 a.m.) Mr. Jerry Hansen, Performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations & Environment (ASA I&E); Dr. Kevin Geiss, Army Energy Program Manager; Dr. Grace Bochenek, Director, U.S. Army Tank & Automotive Research, Development & Engineering Center, Warren, Michigan. ILW #7, Panel title: Energy & the Environment for an Expeditionary Army. (Following the press conference Dr. Kevin Geiss will lead media on a tour of the Army Energy Booths)

(2:00 - 2:30 p.m.) Brig. Gen. Jeffrey C. Horne, Director, Human Resources Policy Directorate, G-1, ILW#6, Panel title: The Army Campaign for Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention.

(3:45 - 4:15 p.m. - or immediately following conclusion of panel discussion) Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sorenson, Chief Information Officer & Deputy Chief of Staff, G-6. ILW #10 title: Operationalizing LandWarNet through the Global Network Enterprise Construct.

(4:15 - 4:45 p.m.) The Army Family Covenant - Delivering on the Covenant, Ms. Kathleen Marin, Director, Installation Services, Office of the Assistant Chief of Installation Management. ILW #11 Panel.


A schedule of senior Army leader media engagements will be available in the AUSA Media Operations Center, Room 140A. Media are encouraged to check the schedule daily as dates and times are subject to change. The U.S. Army Media Operations Center is located at the rear of Room 140A. Hours of operation are from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For information about the 2009 AUSA, visit http://www.ausa.org/www/AM2009 . For information regarding the U.S. Army Media Operations Center during the 2009 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition, contact Mr. Dave Foster at Dave.Foster1@us.army.mil or on blackberry at (703) 839-3824.