We are fortunate to have this report from Eric Steinkopff of Extreme Outfitters on the opening day of the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference.
More than 300 vendors were on hand for the first day of the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference that began Tuesday with the theme “Accelerating the Force.â€
Long lines of anxious patrons queued up in the Tampa Convention Center’s air conditioned climate-controlled environment, as sweltering upper 90 degree weather drenched passersby with stifling humidity and near record highs.
The opening day of the three-day event revealed vendors of traditional outdoor and tactical gear, from packs and sleeping bags to high-end state-of-the-art information technology developers, with multiple integrated sensors and communications packages.
Exact numbers of visitors were difficult to predict, but the flow of patrons was steady as merchants demonstrated their wares to the curious with time to share.
The networking opportunities between manufacturing, marketing and product developers will likely lead to future collaborations that should have a positive impact on the Special Operations community as a whole and, more specifically, the separate teams and individual operators who put their lives on the line in defense of the country and our way of life.
The conference exhibit hall is scheduled to be open 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
