AUSA 2020: Edition 2020 moves to a digital edition including three days of virtual speeches.

According to information released by AUSA organizers, the edition 2020 of AUSA Association of U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Defense Exposition will be held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 crisis from 13 to 16 October 2020.

AUSA 2020 Association of United States Defense Exhibition and Conference goes virtual. (Picture source AUSA)

“After careful and detailed consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to convert the 2020 AUSA Annual Meeting from an in-person meeting to a virtual experience,” said retired Gen. Carter Ham, AUSA president and CEO. “Based on health and safety considerations and ongoing restrictions on large gatherings, it is not possible for us to conduct an in-person meeting as we had originally envisioned.”

Planning is underway for a four-day virtual meeting beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13, and concluding on Friday, Oct. 16. Like live events in the past, the virtual meeting will feature addresses by top Army and national security leaders, professional military forums and presentations by industry.

Registration for the new virtual meeting at this link: Registration AUSA 2020

Switching to a virtual event was a “tough call,” Ham said. “The Annual Meeting is an incredibly important event and one of our favorite ways to celebrate everything that unites us, but health and safety must come first,” he said. “We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event as we had envisioned, but we know it’s the right decision.”

AUSA is now coordinating details for the virtual event, and team members will be reaching out directly to exhibitors and sponsors about new opportunities.

“While it may not replace the full experience of the in-person AUSA Annual Meeting, it will serve to keep us connected with Army senior leaders and messages, with industry partners and with AUSA members around the globe,” Ham said. “We are planning for a forum that allows reach beyond the 33,000-plus people we expected to see in Washington, D.C., this year.”

The AUSA team also is already looking forward to the 2021 Annual Meeting and “a grand reunion” scheduled for Oct. 11-13, 2021, in Washington, D.C., Ham said.