actually, it is rocket science

As anyone familiar with SOLE-The International Society of Logistics might expect, the group's 2006 International Logistics Conference and Exhibition will have a heavy defense orientation. But the conference, whose theme is "Logistics: The Next Generation," also devotes a day to the logistics of humanitarian and disaster relief and a day to aerospace and interplanetary exploration. The event is scheduled for Aug. 15 to 17 at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.

SOLE (originally the Society of Logistics Engineers) describes the conference as a three-day technical meeting. The first day centers on the evolution of logistics in the Department of Defense. Day two features sessions organized around the theme "Future Space Logistics," including a roundtable on the challenges of returning to the moon and exploring Mars. On day three, the conference turns its attention to the role of logistics in humanitarian and disaster relief.

Co-chairs of the conference are James Hall, acting assistant under secretary of Defense for logistics plans and programs, and Louis Kratz, vice president and management director of the Focused Logistics Enterprise at Lockheed Martin Corp. For more information, visit the SOLE Web site, www.sole.org.