National IGE Report: March-April 2024

As noted by Rear Adm. Dean VanderLey, CEC, USN, in his Leader Profile this issue of The Military Engineer (page 66), deeper engagement between industry and government results in more informed decision-making and advancement toward successful solutions for the challenges of today and tomorrow. This is especially important given the size, scope, and urgency of the construction programs now being carried out by the nation’s engineering services.

SAME’s National IGE Projects leverage the Society’s trusted position as the platform of choice for coming together and addressing the needs facing our warfighters and national infrastructure. A recent report delivered out to SAME’s Executive Committee showcases how the Society is pressing forward on a number of fronts.

Warfighting: The Future Challenge and Installation Requirements. This new IGE Project has gotten off to a fast start, already standing up two committees and a sold-out session during the IGE Summit at SAME Capital Week. Focusing on long-term visions for how the services will address their power projection platforms while blending innovation with practicality, this project is bringing together a distinguished group of experts from across government and industry.

Avoiding PFAS Information Overload: Targeted Training for Operational Entities. This project has focused on the educational needs of the military environmental community in delivering actionable, functional information on combatting the PFAS contaminant. Since being stood up two years ago, the project has conducted five separate educational webinars, with an average attendance of 70 members for each. In addition, the project team has published and circulated five fact sheets on PFAS that secured approval from the Defense Department.

Cybersecurity: Raising Awareness of Current & Emerging Cyber Threats to Smart Operational Technologies. This project has most recently branched out to support additional national efforts such as the Future Challenge and Installation Requirements IGE Project. A pair of team members contributed an article in the January-February 2024 TME documenting the efforts around engineering cyber standards for critical facilities. And the project team will again contribute as a topic sponsor for the JETC Warfighting Seminar in 2024. Last year, its session notched a success as the highest attended topic at the seminar.

The coming year is full of opportunities for collaboration that strengthens the ties between industry and government. This also includes robust engagement at the local level, where SAME Posts continue to hold a growing portfolio of events that encourage partnership between the public and private sector