The USSOCOM Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate is offering an online "Virtual Symposium." The purpose of this symposium is to provide information to interested parties with the potential to address the specific commodity areas of interest described below. The online Symposium will be available beginning 15 March 2017 and will feature presentations from the USSOCOM S&T Directorate staff. A link for questions and answers will also be included. Upon registering for access to the symposium, directions will be provided regarding the questions and answers process.

The S&T Directorate's vision is to "Discover, enable, and transition technologies to provide an asymmetric advantage for Special Operations Forces (SOF)." S&T efforts are aligned to provide linkage between technology discovery, full spectrum S&T support and SOF material acquisition efforts.

The Directorate has identified specific technology areas of interest to accelerate the delivery of innovative capabilities to the SOF warfighter. The portfolio is diversified and includes the following commodity areas of interest:

Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (C4). C4 focuses on tactical communications, network transport, and enterprise networks. The FY18 areas are scalable, mobile, and over-the-horizon communication networks and unclassified large data analytics and visualization.

Fires/Scalable Effects Weapons. The Fires portfolio focuses on implementing improvements and correcting deficiencies related to SOF's small arms. The portfolio also includes increasingly effective ammunition, explosives, and devices offering scalable effects.

Optical Electronics/Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR). Optics portfolio focuses on advanced multispectral systems, displays, and LPI/LPD devices to provide an exponential leap in SOF targeting and situational awareness. ISR focuses on systems that significantly improve SOF situational/threat awareness, and improved multiband sensors.

Protection. Focuses on materials and form factors for body worn protection and platform survivability against emerging threats.

Biomedical/Human Performance. Focuses on tactical combat casualty care, real-time medical monitoring, and maintaining optimal SOF operator performance.

All information provided in the presentations will be at the unclassified level. Further administrative details, to include the presentation hyperlink, will be provided to those parties who register at the link below.

Who should register?
• Industry (large and small) that are interested in Science & Technology Directorate contracting and subcontracting opportunities representing the commodities areas of interest.
• Companies interested in partnering with the S&T Directorate through the use of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).
• Representatives from academic institutions.
• Representatives of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.

Why register?
• The S&T Directorate seeks to address critical needs of the Special Forces Operator through as many means possible and relies on the expertise of industry, academia and labs to identify the best way forward.
• The virtual symposium is an opportunity to hear and see those areas of interest that will be the S&T Directorates primary focus in the coming year and allow the ability to initiate early identification and planning to meet those needs.

Registration: All parties desiring to access the presentations must register at: https://www.socom.mil/SOF-ATL/Pages/TDWG-Virt-Symp.aspx.

The S&T Directorate's Virtual Symposium is specifically for future advancement and emerging technologies that would significantly impact the commodity areas of interest described above. This is NOT a Broad Agency Announcement, solicitation, or request for proposals. The Symposium presentations are intended to provide information to industry without any promise of a current or future contract.