Geospatial conference postponed
U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation announces that DOD's current travel restrictions make the GEOINT conference, planned to take place in Tampa, untenable.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was to speak at the GEOINT Symposium later this month.
The U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation announced late on Oct. 8 that the partial government shutdown has forced the postponement of its flagship GEOINT Symposium.
The geospatial intelligence conference, scheduled to feature speakers including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, was to be held Oct. 14-16 in Tampa, Fla.
USGIF previously had acknowledged the shutdown would affect the conference, but that it still planned to hold the event.
Ironically, it was ' enactment last week of legislation authorizing Defense Department personnel to be paid and ending much of DOD's furlough that forced a change in plans.
"Recently the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 'Pay Our Military Act,' which allowed most Defense Department personnel to return to their jobs alongside the excepted personnel who were still working," Keith Masback, USGIF CEO, wrote in an e-mail to attendees. "However, the act also included language that has made it impossible for personnel to travel (except in direct support of operational forces) or attend events — including the GEOINT 2013 Symposium."
The conference is now slated to be held in spring 2014. More details can be found on the GEOINT website.