Salient Federal Solutions Unveils New Education and Training Center Supporting the Space and Missile Systems Center University

FAIRFAX, Va. and LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --  Salient Federal Solutions, Inc. (Salient), a leading provider of Federal IT and engineering solutions, today announces the opening of the Salient Federal Solutions Education and Training Center supporting the Space and Missile Systems Center University at Los Angeles Air Force base. The first of its kind in the armed forces community, the custom, state-of-the-art onsite and distance-based training facility will serve the United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center workforce, civilians and contractors worldwide. The official opening of the center, located across from the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, Calif., was marked with a grand opening event today.  

The 5,000-square-foot facility, outfitted with today's most advanced learning and IT infrastructure, will now serve a customer base of more than 6,000 and provide for a highly effective and seamless learning experience while significantly reducing instructor training travel costs. The facility design and technology allows for the most-recognized minds in military training and instruction to offer highly interactive and effective courses to a broad base of students.  

"The Salient Federal Solutions Education and Training Center, coupled with the course development, teaching and facility operation support we provide the Space and Missile Systems Center University, will support sorely needed, dedicated training facilities to meet the needs of a 21st century workforce," said Ed Salem, chancellor of SMC University. "The talented team at Salient has truly created a remarkable learning environment and helped develop an exceptional educational curriculum to ensure our workforce remains competitive and the best at what they do."

Salient also created a centralized course management system to provide greater consistency across the university while ensuring each individual receives only the most relevant training for his or her role, something the Air Force sees as a competitive advantage in the future. Additionally, each person will now have an individual development plan on a shared platform that will serve as an effective management tool.

"Our customers have some of the brightest personnel in the world, and we want to serve them by capturing, transferring and improving that knowledge," said Brad Antle, president and CEO of Salient. "We are proud of what has been accomplished here to better serve the Air Force and help to develop the workforce they need to continue to provide the nation with its superior space capabilities."

In addition to serving the Los Angeles Air Force Base workforce, the facility will also remotely serve the training and development needs of the workforces at Peterson and Shriever Air Force bases, along with a number of other locations where space and missile systems staff are located. The university is the first training and education facility for the Salient Responsive Mission Support Services business unit, and it serves as a model for future military branches in need of state-of-the-art training facilities and top-notch educational programming.  

Facility Technology Overview and Features

The new facility's capabilities in interactive e-learning experiences allow for remarkable educational opportunities. For example, students are able to watch an instructor based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WP AFB) in Ohio, who may be green screened to create the appearance that he/she is on the moon or at a space shuttle launch, teach them via a live feed from inside the class. Students are able to ask questions, which are picked up by ceiling microphones, amplified and transmitted to the teacher at WP AFB who can then see who asked the question, hear it and respond. Additionally, students are able to view sessions live from home, or anywhere and send questions via chat to the instructor at WP AFB or even a fellow student. The entire class and interactions are recorded, edited and then posted to the university website. 

The new facility will provide instructors and students with a state-of-the-art learning environment including:

• Three large classrooms, featuring two separated by a retractable, soundproof wall offering the Air Force an additional conference center capability
• A 13-foot digital projector with 10 high-definition, networked flat screens for seamless transfer of material from classroom to breakout sessions
• Three breakout rooms with TV connectivity for networked presentations and videos
• Five high-definition, pan-tilt and zoom cameras, synched to a central control booth, for recording and transmitting feeds of both distance learning and stand-up instruction
• Capabilities to record, edit and upload individual classes to the university website
• A computer training center with 24 state-of-the-art touch screen computers 
• An executive conference room with VTC capability and recording through the control booth
• Two video white boards, which instantly transmit and record what is written on them
• The capability to stream classes to group sites or individual computers with an instructor presiding

The Space and Missile Systems Center, a subordinate unit of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the center of technical excellence for researching, developing and purchasing military space systems. The center is also responsible for on-orbit check-out, testing, sustainment and maintenance of military satellite constellations and other Department of Defense space systems. The center has an annual total budget in excess of $10 billion per year and employs an estimated 6,000 people including military, civilians and contractors worldwide.

About Salient Federal Solutions: Salient Federal Solutions is a leading provider of Federal IT and engineering solutions that enable government and industry to respond quickly to new or surge mission requirements with exactly the right people, skills, expertise and technical solutions. The company works to accelerate mission impact by delivering highly adaptable technology services, engineering solutions and domain expertise that enable customers to rapidly meet the pressing requirements of today, while anticipating tomorrow's evolving challenges. Salient Federal Solutions is headquartered in Fairfax, Va., with offices in Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Orlando, San Diego and Tampa. More information is available at: www.salientfed.com.    

SOURCE Salient Federal Solutions, Inc.