Welcome to IMAGE 2014 at the River Campus of the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. Over the past 37 years there have been only three years in which the IMAGE Conference was not held in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area … 1994 at the Westin LaPaloma Resort in Tucson, Arizona, and 2008-09 at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Since the financial crisis of 2008 the economic climate has experienced a dramatic change affecting all segments of the economy including the U.S. Military's budget resulting in decreased expenditures for conference attendance and non-operational travel. These budgets have become increasingly limited in the ensuing years. This segment of conference attendance has historically played an important role in the conference's technical program and face-to-face interaction with other conference attendees.

Recognizing the need to facilitate U.S. military attendance, for 2014 the IMAGE Conference has been relocated to the University of Dayton's River Campus to be near the largest group of prior conference military/government attendees at nearby Wright-Patterson A.F.B. thereby minimizing their time and expense for travel. Hopefully, other non-local military/government personnel may be able to combine business trips to Wright-Patterson A.F.B. with conference attendance.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to recognize and extend our gratitude to FlightSafety International (Dan Myers) and CAE (Andrew Fernie) our two Company Hosts at this years event. Dan Myers, as the Prime Host and Honorary Conference Chairman will open the conference and introduce the Keynote Speaker. FlightSafety will also provide Tuesday's complimentary luncheon and coffee breaks. Andrew Fernie as Gold Host, will serve as Wednesday's Master of Ceremonies with CAE providing that day's complimentary luncheon and coffee breaks. To both of them our sincere gratitude.

Have a most enjoyable and beneficial conference!