Marine Corps Base Quantico -- The 2015 Modern Day Marine Military Expo will focus on enhanced capabilities for expeditionary forces and will be hosted at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia, Sept. 22 - 24. This year marks the 23rd consecutive year the show has staged at MCB, Quantico and the 10th year at Lejeune Field, the main parade deck aboard MCB, Quantico, the “Crossroads of the Corps”.
The expo is sponsored by the Marine Corps League and hosted by Marine Corps Base, Quantico. The League is a 70,000-member Marine Corps veteran’s organization. Personnel from Marine Corps Systems Command, Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Marine Corps Warfighting Lab will be present to meet with industry representatives.
A significant enhancement to the expo this year is the new panels taking place at the show, which are open to the media. Organized by Headquarters Marine Corps, the new panels will be held at the Briefing Center, located just outside “Tent A” and adjacent to the food vendors.
Additionally, for the first time since 2012, Marine Corps Systems Command is hosting a Planning Brief to Industry on Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 12:45-4:00 p.m., also at the Briefing Center. Program Managers from each function will brief industry on the current status of their programs and the opportunities that might exist in the future. PEO-Land Systems will also give a brief at this event. Following the Planning Brief, industry representatives will be given the opportunity to sign-up for one-on-one meetings with Program Managers over the course of the remaining days at the expo.
One of the exposition’s most popular events is the Enlisted Awards Parade. This year, the parade will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23. The colorful ceremony features the presentation of awards for superior service to enlisted Marines and sailors from Marine Corps units around the world. The awards are sponsored by the Capital Marines Detachment of the Marine Corps League. Because of the large number of visitors who attend the parade, car-pooling is encouraged to reduce traffic congestion at the center of the base.
Another major event on Sept. 23, the Modern Day Marine Military Exposition’s Grand Banquet and Awards Dinner will be held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the Crystal City section of Arlington, Va. During the Awards Dinner, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps will present the Marine Corps League’s top awards — the Military Order of the Iron Mike and the Dickey Chapelle Award — to two distinguished Americans for outstanding service to the nation, and to the Marine Corps in particular. The Iron Mike is named for a statue at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC, which is famous among Marines as a symbol of service, sacrifice and valor. The Dickey Chapelle Award is named for a woman war correspondent who covered the Marines in several wars and was killed on a combat patrol with Marines in Vietnam.
Once again this year, the Modern Day Marine Military Exposition will have a “Family Day,” during which family members of Department of Defense military and civilian personnel can tour the exhibits. Family Day is Thursday, Sept. 24.
The 2015 expo is closed to the general public, but is anticipated to draw large crowds from not only U.S. Marine Corps military and civilian personnel, but also members of the other U.S. services, foreign military attaches, and corporate representatives from throughout the United States and several allied nations.