Connections 2002

Welcome and Introduction

by Russ Lockwood


Connections 2002 is held at Maxwell Air Force Base outside Montgomery, Alabama. I usually fly to Atlanta, pick up a rental car, and drive the three hours to Montgomery, with the intention of staying an extra day (need to stay over a Saturday night to get a lower airfare) and visiting some battlefield or historical site. Last year, I visited the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning. This year, as it turns out, I spent most of Saturday at the USAF Archives, but I get ahead of myself.

The Conference, hosted by Air University and co-chaired by Matt Caffrey and John Van Hove, ran from Tuesday Feb 19 to Friday Feb 22. I usually try to get there on Monday, buit this time, Monday was a holiday and I flew down to Atlanta and drove to Maxwell AFB on Tuesday, getting in just after 5pm. That's a shame, because I missed the introductory lectures on "AirPower 101." I had attended these lectures before, but it's always a good way to start the conference. I was in time for the "Icebreaker" at 6pm, and that is an excellent way to start to say hello to fellow attendees.

Maxwell Air Force Base

Air Base security is much tighter than it was last year, with a maze of concrete barriers at the gate and several security personnel. I had to pull over to the "car search" area, but I was quickly processed and on my way to billeting.

Caffrey and van Hove suggest that you stay on base, and I wouldn't have it otherwise. The rooms are clean and functional. Sometimes I stay in a room which is the equivalent to a hotel room. Othertimes, like this year, I stayed in a room with a kitchen included. I will say that the facilities are starting to get a little frayed around the edges in the little things: holes in the towels, leaky toilet fixtures, and things like that. Some maintenance is going on. Indeed, while I was there, they were doing a fixtures check in my room, so I suspect they may be evaluating what needs fixing first. But as I said, it was clean and functional and it is nice to park the car on Tuesday and not have to drive until Saturday.

Everything is within walking distance (I never use the provided van shuttle service--it's a couple of blocks from room to the buildings of the College of Air Doctrine, Research, and Education and the Air Force Wargaming Institute, where most of the lectures and events are held. The only other walk is to the Officer's Club for lunch, and that's a couple blocks in the other direction.

Since I hail from NJ, February in the south is a pleasant place, with temperatures usually in the 60s. Walking in the warm air is great. It rained on Wednesday morning, but cleared out for that wonderful 60s weather for the next day or two. In fact, while talking to one of the attendees outside for about 45 minutes, I ended up getting a sunburn on the left side of my face. He got the sunburn on the right side. Some wag noted that we reminded them of the old Star Trek episode with the half-white/half-black faces. If I had known the sun was going to be that strong, I would have switched places after 20 minutes! Friday night was cold, wind chills edging into the mid-30s, while Saturday was back up into the 50s. In all, it was a pleasant week.

Lectures

Of course, the main purpose is to exhange information, and lectures provide the structure, while breaks, dinners, and other events provide informal conversations. I try to attend every one, but I also use the Conference to spend some face-to-face time with folks I speak to over the phone or e-mail.

I will note that the "Break Room" has a large screen TV with live feed from the lecture hall, with a couch and a couple chairs situated to watching. It's not the greatest picture (odd, that), but it is very comfortable compared to narrower seats with fold out laptables. The biggest problem is that I talk to the other folks watching the lecture and don't take notes.

This is one of my favorite conferences, in part because of the quality of invited guests from the military, civilian DoD, and various commercial companies, and also because I only have to work the MagWeb.com booth for one night. Not only do you come away with a head-load of information, you come away with the gears of your mind turning.

I'd like to thank Caffrey, van Hove, and the rest of crew for providing an informative series of lectures and a first class conference. If there's an 11th year, I plan to be back for it.

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