ISOA was thrilled to welcome 300 attendees to ISOA Europe Industry Days on April 7-10, 2025 in Wiesbaden, where the growing resolve among European nations to rearm and take greater responsibility for their own defense was evident as the U.S.’s strategic focus shifts more towards the Indo-Pacific region.

Key Takeaways: 

• The U.S. Army considers industry partnerships to be a strategic asset and essential part of supporting U.S. national defense strategy and activities. Industry-to-DoD relationship-building exercises during events such as Europe Industry Days are essential for effective partnerships.
• European countries are committed to investing in their own defense and are seeking to work with partners from the U.S. and other locations. The U.S. defense contracting framework has much to offer as these countries increase defense spending.
• Experiences in Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression may offer insights for the future as it innovates, adapts, and rebuilds at the same time it defends.  
• Interoperability and superior logistics remain critical to win conflicts, and companies that are more effective at executing against these goals will be more successful in getting business.
• NATO, with its purchasing arm NSPA, is coordinating across multiple countries and welcomes private industry to assist in solving challenges and innovating. 

Here’s a more detailed overview of the conference:

Opening comments from Tobias Beutgen of Constellis and ISOA’s Europe Chapter Director, and Minister Andreas Scheuer set the tone for the insightful discussions and one-on-one interactions that unfolded over the next several days. 

“There has been a desire to join the U.S. and European defense industrial bases to provide more robust and more cost-effective solutions in support of the European Theater…We as an industry see a lot of opportunities, especially here in Europe, with an immense increase in defense spending as well as an increase of importance for our services filling the gaps and supporting our governments… The U.S. and European transatlantic partnership is indispensable in every respect.” – Tobias Beutgen, Constellis & ISOA Europe Chapter Director 

“[Europe] must take greater responsibility for defending Europe’s freedom. And in doing so, we will need the support of experienced U.S. military contractors.” – Minister Andreas Scheuer 

To kick off the conference, ISOA President Howie Lind welcomed attendees and provided an overview of ISOA’s current activities.

Keynote Speaker, MG Pete Andrysiak from EUCOM, introduced by LTG Mick Bednarek, USA (Ret), Fluor, framed up the themes of the conference by emphasizing our ironclad partnership with NATO along with the importance of industry’s adaptability and innovation in partnership with U.S. Department of Defense forces in Europe. MG Andrysiak attended much of the rest of the conference and welcomed interaction with attending companies. 

The first panel, Military Modernization in Europe, moderated by LTG Mick Bednarek, USA (Ret), Fluor, included COL Jeremy Shellhammer, U.S. Army Europe & Africa, Bill Williams, 4H4 Management GmbH, COL Walter Richter, EUCOM, and Dan Soller, Mission Essential Group. The discussion centered around the rise in defense spending despite the changes underway and the importance of innovation and industry/military partnerships.  

Next, Keynote Speaker MG Duane Miller of NSATU/SAG-U, and COL Oleksandr Cherepanskyi, Deputy Military Representative, Armed Forces of Ukraine, NSATU and SAG-U, were introduced by Rick Abner, Atlas Advisors. They emphasized how Ukraine is innovating and modernizing in real time and how industry will play an important role.  

Mike Young from V2X moderated the next panel, NSATU and SAG-U, which included Joe Dunaway, Amentum, Colonel Vadym Osipov, Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, and COL Oleksandr Cherepanskyi, Armed Forces of Ukraine. The panel explored how to ensure Ukraine not only wins, but builds back a resilient, interoperable, and future-ready military force. 

ISOA’s Poland Chapter Director Anna Malec-Was of PDGA introduced Keynote Speaker Brigadier General Witold Bartoszek, Polish Army/NSATU, who highlighted the positive impact of NATO and NSATU’s support for Ukraine. 

Costa Maroulis from Constellis led a valuable panel on the 409th and Other Contracting Agencies in Europe with LTC Dave Delassus of the 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Dale Berry of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Lee Tate of AFRICOM J4, and David Bremer, Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA). The panel described the goods and services handled by the 409th, DLA and DeCA, and the specific contract vehicles used. Panelists described how the U.S. military optimizes translating needs into contracting requirements. Finally, we learned about a very specific requirement: DeCA needs a sushi vendor in Germany!

Keynote Speaker LTG Andrew M. Rohling, the deputy chair of the NATO Military Committee, was introduced by LTG Frank G. Helmick, USA (Ret). LTG Rohling noted NATO’s whole of society approach – military, civilian and industry – and recognized industry’s role in providing resilient supply networks, innovation, and sustainability. 

The day ended with a convivial President’s Dinner – a traditional German dinner at the charming Ratskeller in Wiesbaden.

Day 2 of programming started with Keynote Speaker COL Todd Allison of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, introduced by Tom Lampley of KBR, offering his insights on their efforts to streamline and speed up the acquisition process and how to enable industry partners to solve the right problems, including sharing strategies and plans.

Following up was Keynote Speaker Helmut Haufe of Theater Logistics Support Center – Europe and Africa, introduced by Lynne Schneider, Entovation International, who described the specifics of what, where, and how the 21st TSC provides logistical support to the U.S. Army in Europe and Africa. 

After a networking break, Rochelle Lipsitz of International SOS welcomed Keynote Speaker Emanuele Piffaretti, NSPA, a frequent speaker at ISOA conferences. He reviewed NATO and NSPA’s priorities and procurement structure, emphasizing their partnerships and need for interoperability. He also noted the need to get registered as a vendor and publicized their upcoming Industry Days events. 

Next, Keynote Speaker Frank Dubeck, Defense Logistics Agency, introduced by Chris Decker, Planate Management Group, described the desire to work together with contractors to improve logistics delivery for troop support. 

Panel 4 focused on the hot topic of Critical Minerals & Energy in Ukraine. It was moderated by John Gastright, Amentum and included Sharon Burke of Ecospherics, Glenn Goddard of Parsons and Irina Paliashvili, US-Ukraine Business Council. The panel discussed the demand and requirements for energy and critical minerals, the potential agreement with Ukraine, and specific opportunities for American businesses after the deal is signed. 

Keynote Speaker Justin Wetherwax of USACE, introduced by Glenn Goddard, Parsons, provided an overview of active and upcoming projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Europe. 

The day ended with a Fireside Chat with COL (res) Marc Lemmermann, PhD of Rheinmetall, moderated by Jim Shields of PTS. The discussion centered around the German defense procurement process, highlighting the “whatever it takes” direction provided by the German government.

The final day of programming started off with Keynote Speaker Colonel Vadym Osipov, Ukrainian Liaison Officer with NSATU, introduced by Roxanne Kaufman, ISOA. Colonel Osipov highlighted the main areas of cooperation, including innovation sharing.  

Jake Frazer of PTS moderated a panel titled European Defense Industrial Base that included Marc Essig of EOS, Simon Waddington of AMS Integrated Solutions, and COL (res) Marc Lemmermann, PhD of Rheinmetall. This group, representing countries across Europe, discussed requirements, procedures, timing, and funding for short-term and long-term European defense needs.

The final panel of the Conference, Contracting Support to the European Theater, was moderated by Tom Lampley of KBR and included COL Todd Allison, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Mike Flanagan of KBR, Chris Norris of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade, and Bryan Roberts of Amentum. The panel emphasized how the U.S. Army can’t do sustainment without industry partners, specific contract vehicles, and lessons learned from the conflict in Ukraine. 

The conference wrapped up with a Business Matchmaking session, when attendees had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with potential partners to present company capabilities, following up on presentations and networking conversations earlier in the conference.

Thank you to all of our participants and attendees for a successful conference with a noticeably high level of engagement and participation by our attendees.

We encourage companies in the defense contracting space to join us for our upcoming events in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, when these government-to-industry conversations will continue.