The event culminated with a Flag Officer Panel on Friday afternoon, during which senior leaders engaged in a discussion with the audience, fielding questions across a range of issues such as potential future conflicts, funding, career paths and what lies ahead for the NHA community. Panelists were: Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Development (N7), Vice Adm. Jeffrey Hughes; Military Deputy Commander, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Vice Adm. Alvin Holsey; President of the U.S. Naval War College, Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield; Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget/Director, Fiscal Management Division (N82), Rear Adm. John Gumbleton; Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command, Rear Adm. Michael Steffen; and Commander, Navy Personnel Command/Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel, Rear Adm. Wayne Baze. 

 
“What are the missions and functions this community brings to the table?” Vice Adm. Hughes asked. “Right now we have to be thinking about the missions we need to do, then think about how to best organize, train and equip to support the future operational concepts necessary to meet our strategic objectives.”
 
The senior leaders also discussed finding advantages through various means and disciplines.
 
“Decision advantage, the quality and speed of our decision-making, will be paramount to future operational success,” Adm. Hughes said. “We must integrate and achieve advantages in the information, cyber and space domains to achieve the necessary operational outcomes.”
 
Adm. Holsey, speaking from his perspective at a geographic combatant command (COCOM), stated, “We can’t get enough planners and strategists … everything at the COCOM comes down to them.”
 
He emphasized that events in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility are in America’s neighborhood. “We need to look at this fight globally,” he emphasized.
 
Earlier in the day, Commander, Carrier Strike Group Three, Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox, delivered a keynote address.
 
“I really appreciate the energy that all of you bring to meeting the challenges inherent in the Pacific high-end fight,” Adm. Lenox said. “NHA provides a unique opportunity to hear from the helicopter community and get the unfiltered vision from the men and women wearing flight suits and the capabilities you bring. Naval rotary wing aviation isn’t going anywhere. From my seat as a Strike Group Commander, it is clear that you all have a key role to play, both in deterring conflict and winning, if we must fight."
 
Among other notable events, the symposium also featured a panel event with commodores, deputy commodores, carrier air wing commanders and a Marine aircraft group commander. Here again, discussions ranged depending on questions from the audience. One theme that emerged was the partnership between Marine Corps and Navy aviation—collectively they make up Naval Aviation.
 
“The Blue-Green integration … that needs to keep happening,” Commander, Helicopter Sea Combat Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Capt. Edward Weiler said.
 
The Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 39, Col. Nathan Marvel, stated, “We’re all going to be in the fight.”
 
Speeches and panels did not comprise the entire agenda for the symposium. Commander, Naval Air Forces, Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, commonly referred to as the Navy’s “Air Boss,” had a meeting with junior officers (ensigns through lieutenant commanders). The officers had a chance to hear about the senior leader’s view of their communities and operations, and to speak candidly with him about their experiences, ideas and concerns.
 
The symposium also offered multiple chances for professional development, including meetings with detailers, opportunities for the government to build relationships with their private-sector partners and a breakfast event highlighting 50 years of women flying in Naval Aviation.
 
 
The Naval Helicopter Association, Inc., (NHA) is a non-profit 501(c)(6) professional organization that exists to support the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps rotary wing communities.
 
The Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) is a collaborative warfighting partnership wherein Naval Aviation leaders leverage their assigned authorities to deliberate and resolve interdependent issues across the whole of Naval Aviation to provide combat-ready naval air forces to the fleet at the best possible cost.