Technology expo draws hundreds to its doors, gives insight to future military tools

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Travis Edwards
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  More than 500 military and civilian members of the Kaiserslautern military community walked into the Officers' club here Feb. 7, to take a peek into the future of emerging technologies.

As part of the annual winter technology exhibition, 41 different vendors gathered to showcase the latest and greatest in military advancements.

"It's about information exchange; an informal venue for the vendor and military community to speak with each other about the newest technologies," said Jennifer Mason, the event manager speaking on behalf of the Armed Forces Communications Electronic Association. "In today's market, it makes sense to bring all of these advancements to one centralized location for the military members to pull ideas from."

With so many different vendors, there was something for everyone. Video teleconferencing software, distance education, computers, photo accessories, police gear and cloud services to name a few.

"This is cool," said 1st Lt. Erica Juchter, 86th Communications Squadron officer in charge of cyber security and readiness, and visiting patron. "It's so convivial, everyone is enjoying themselves; it's events like this that can spark more and more ideas to make the Air Force more efficient in its day-to-day processes."

Another, larger technology expo is scheduled for July 16 through 18 with more than 100 vendors on site at the Officers' Club.

"In addition to the interaction with military members, this venue provided the vendors a way to find out what is needed by end user," said Capt. Thomas Hamlyn, 2nd Air Postal Squadron flight commander. "It's all about seeing what companies have come up with to improve on the way we do business."

This is the 15th year the technology exhibition has come to Ramstein.

The event was hosted by the Kaiserslautern AFCEA Chapter 158 and sponsored by United States Air Forces in Europe communications directorate.