HammerCon - The Time is Now!
By LTC Brad E. Rhodes, HammerCon Co-Lead
January 6, 2020
When the Military Cyber Professionals Association (MCPA) was founded, the organization has worked toward an ambitious and inspiring vision:
Our nation needs cyberspace secure for military, economic, and private individual pursuits.
Our nation expects the American military to work together as a team.
Our nation deserves a robust association of professionals dedicated to ensuring cyberspace is a national asset.
MCPA has expanded to multiple chapters across the country, boasting more than two thousand members nationally. It has become clear that MCPA membership - the Nation’s military cyber professionals - need, expect, and deserve the opportunity to come together as a community at their own “Con”. That time is NOW and the event is HammerCon on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at Capitol Technology University in Laurel Maryland! The inaugural HammerCon will be a full day of exceptional learning, capped off with an evening reception celebrating the 11th Anniversary of the Secretary of Defense directing the creation of USCYBERCOM in 2009, with the Command rolling into the “Roaring ‘20s”.
MCPA’s FIRST ever convention (HammerCon) is named to honor the organization’s Order of Thor medals recognizing the excellence of military cyber professionals. HammerCon will bring together the entire military cyber community in three tracks:
Main (Cyber Operations Readiness & Experiences or CORE)
Scholarly Research (New Emerging Research & Development or NERD)
Private Sector Solutions (Growing Innovations in Tech or GIT)
Each of these tracks are designed to present unique insights and ideas to inspire the newest members of the community to the most experienced. There is no cost for MCPA members to attend what is certain to be the most talked about event exclusively for military cyber professionals ever held.
To make the first HammerCon a success, here’s how you can help:
Volunteer to support planning committee - reach out to either brad dot rhodes at milcyber dot org or christine at milcyber dot org. There are jobs large and small!
Submit a paper or presentation for consideration! Military cyber professionals like you are the lifeblood of MCPA and we want you to be the highlight of HammerCon. The call for papers and presentations (CFP) is open now - submit yours for consideration here.
Finally, sponsors help make events like HammerCon go. If you or your organization is interested in being a recognized contributor to the first (of many) MCPA HammerCon events, sponsorship opportunities are available. Please reach out to christine at milcyber dot org for details and options.
So, SAVE the date for Tuesday, June 23, 2020 to be at Capitol Technology University in Laurel, MD to learn from the best, grow your network, and celebrate the military cyber profession in style! Stay tuned to the event website for regular updates on HammerCon and to reserve your ticket!
About the Author
LTC BE Rhodes is a Cyber Warfare Officer in the Colorado Army National Guard where he commands Cyber Protection Team 174. He holds multiple professional certifications, regularly speaks on cyber defense and incident response, and teaches at the graduate level. LTC Rhodes enjoys building with Raspberry Pi and Arduino IoT devices to model SCADA/ICS to demonstrate kinetic-cyber effects for senior leaders. He has drowned countless Lego people over the years and helped many understand that connecting to unsecured WiFi is a terrible idea! You can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter (@cyber514).
Note from MCPA management: there have been important updates to the HammerCon site (https://public.milcyber.org/hammercon) including tickets now open and event logo...
