By MOAA Staff

Attendees at the inaugural TotalForce+ conference Oct 28-29 can expect insights and information on topics covering the spectrum of service – and, just as important, they can expect the chance to build meaningful solutions alongside fellow stakeholders.

“The idea would be that they make those networking connections, they have collaboration opportunities, they meet new people, and … they get exposed to new ideas,” Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, MOAA’s president and CEO, said in a recent appearance on the Drive On podcast, hosted by Army veteran Scott DeLuzio. “Maybe they contribute a piece to the puzzle, somebody else puts a puzzle piece down, and sooner or later … you have the whole puzzle solved because you were able to network and bring these capabilities together.”

The discussions at the people-focused conference will center around four topic areas, Kelly explained.

Talent Management and Innovation: Guests will look at how the services are “taking care of and developing and utilizing the force so that they can maximize the work that they do” in pursuit of a strong national defense, Kelly said.

Leadership Development and Performance: Discussions will look at personal improvement methods – everything from leadership tactics and strategies to nutrition and wellness programs – to “maximize the performance of each soldier, each airman, each sailor, each Marine, each guardian that's out there … to make sure people can use their brainpower the best they can.”

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Quality of Life: From housing to child care to medical concerns to spouse employment, “quality of life is really not just an individual issue for the servicemember, but for the whole family,” Kelly said. “It helps us from a readiness standpoint make sure that the individual uniformed member can focus on their job and they're not worried about what's happening day to day at home.”

Veteran and Retiree Experience: Life after service takes on many challenges, from initial professional transition to navigating VA health care and benefits. The conference will cover all of this ground, Kelly said, including discussions on using artificial intelligence as part of a job search, a series of networking opportunities, and spotlighting mental health and suicide prevention resources.

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“MOAA’s goal would be that leaving that conference, people see these great opportunities to further their work on whatever challenge, whatever problem they're trying to solve because they made some great connections and were exposed to some great things at TotalForce+,” Kelly told DeLuzio.

Visit the Drive On website for more episodes of the podcast and links to subscribe via multiple podcast platforms.