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SOF Week – What’s Old Is New

Monday, May 1st, 2023

I’ve been questioned quite a bit about why SOFIC is now known as SOF Week. The proper question is, why is it called SOF Week again?

Check out this post from my first month of publishing SSD back in May of 2008. It’s titled “SOF Week” and then goes on to describe things I saw during the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference.

The short answer to why it went from SOF Week to SOFIC and back is vendors. In 2008, SOF Week was managed by a local Tampa company called Meeting Matters Plus. They were the vendor to USSOCOM to host the event and everything was run from their website, registration and all.

Eventually, that transitioned to the National Defense Industrial Association which established the URL www.SOFIC.org. Naturally, everyone just started using that acronym, which just rolled off the tongue to describe the event.

When USSOCOM transitioned vendors to host the event again last year, NDIA still owned the URL so it was a good reason to start referring to the week-long event as the traditional SOF Week which better describes where it’s going in the future.

Now, the Global SOF Foundation supports the four-day SOF Week, presenting SOFIC as well as other meetings and seminars.

By the way, SOF Week is next week so if you’re planning to go, you’d better get your schedule in order.

Don’t mind the typos in that post from 2007. We’ve moved servers like five times since then and the site picks up artifacts every time. They are random and only way I find them is to go back and run across them.

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8th Annual Gelande Quaffing

Friday, April 21st, 2023

Be sure to attend the 8th Annual Gelande Quaffing and Silent Auction in support of the All In All The Time Foundation on Wednesday 10 May at Harbor Island in front of Jackson’s Bistro during SOF Week in Tampa, FL.

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SOF Select Participating Brands

Thursday, April 13th, 2023

SOF Select will run concurrently with SOF Week at the Westin Tampa Waterside, as in yours past.

Be sure to stop by.

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SOF Week – Outdoor Demos

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023

Dock space at SOF Week is now fully booked. Some of the outdoor demos and exhibits will be hands-on, including the ability to get wet.

Visit sofweek.org to register now.

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SOF Week Update – Registration Is Open, PEO PEO 1-on-1 Session, and SOF Week Innovation Theater

Thursday, March 30th, 2023

Here are a few updates for SOF Week 2023. First off, registration is now open. Be prepared to share copies of your identification as well as a digital passport sized photo. This is quite common for international shows and will help GSOF and their partner Clarion Events ensure that they conduct a safe and secure event for USSOCOM. Visit sofweek.org to register.

Additionally, PEO 1-on-1 Session Applications close this Friday. They are one of the best opportunities for a small business to get in front of USSOCOM’s program managers.

www.sofweek.org/peo-1-1-meetings

Finally, application for the inaugural SOF Week Innovation Theater close on April 6th. Out of the entire week, this is the event I am most excited about.

This is an opportunity for companies with innovative products, or concepts, to present their technological advances to priority modernization areas and emerging technologies of significant interest to USSOCOM AT&L representatives and USSOCOM SMEs. I’d suggest that you also apply if you are individual or academic organization.

Selected companies will be offered a 20 minute “presentation” slot in the SOF Week Innovation Theater. To learn more, visit www.sofweek.org/sof-week-innovation-theater.

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SOF Week Registration Opens Today

Tuesday, March 14th, 2023

Presented by the Global Special Operations Forces Foundation and Clarion Events, SOF Week is being held 8-11 May at the Tampa Bay Convention Center.

Pre-registration opens today. Registration information is here.

See the full agenda here.

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SOFIC Is Dead! Long Live SOF Week!

Wednesday, February 8th, 2023

Last fall, the National Defense Industrial Association announced that there wouldn’t be a Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in 2023. It was kind of like someone cancelling Christmas. But never fear, while it’s true that there won’t be a SOFIC, there will be an event focused on USSOCOM this May.

The Global SOF Foundation will, for at least the next few years, host SOF Week on behalf of United States Special Operations Command.

Bottom Line Up Front: SOF Week will continue the industry focused programming that was a staple of SOFIC, to include PEO briefings, PEO one-on-one meetings, SOCOM Acquisition focused briefings, and the Acquisition Executive Keynote.

This year, SOF Week is 8-11 May, 2023 at the SOF Week Campus, which primarily includes the Tampa Convention Center, Tampa Marriott Water Street, Tampa Westin Waterside, the Tampa JW Marriott, and surrounding areas. Although it’s a little earlier in the month than in years past, it’s in the same location.

Many in industry are concerned that there hasn’t been much communication from GSOF or their tradeshow partner Clarion Defense regarding booth space. This is because it has taken longer than expected to work out all of the details with USSOCOM. But things are now moving along at a brisk pace.

This year offers to be bigger than ever and in response GSOF has increased floor space for vendors. However, demand is at an all-time high and space is selling out very quickly. GSOF tells me the list for space requests included over 1,000 companies; literally.

You can see the current floorplan for yourself… click the drop down under “Maps” to see both floors here.

However, GSOF hears your concerns and is working to offer other opportunities for Industry like Industry Matchmaking and reservable meeting space.

Which brings me to my next point. Who better to run SOF Week? With GSOF in charge, many of us feel that the event is home, being organized and presented by former members of the the various SOF components.

As it evolves SOF Week will better align with the Command and its goals of engagement. SOF Week not only encompasses the industry conference and capabilities demonstration that many are accustomed to, but there are generally other Command events during the week.

Having said that, there won’t be a big capabilities demonstration, Commander’s Conference, or international SOF conference this year; SOCOM runs that event, and it only runs on even years. So, it will be back in 2024 and is fully directed by USSOCOM.

However, within this week-long framework, GSOF will work with USSOCOM to enhance the experience by providing additional opportunities for attendees including transition programming, professional development, internationally focused panels, and academic discussions.

Over the next few weeks we’ll focus on SOF Week and various new features for participants, both government and industry alike.

Please spread the word, “SOFIC Is Dead! Long Live SOF Week!”

Visit www.sofweek.org for more information.

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