More than 800 Signaleers met at Fort Gordon last week to discuss the changes in the Signal Corps and look ahead to its future during the Signal Conference.

Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, Fort Hood's commanding general and commander of III Corps, spoke to the group on Dec. 3 via live video.

When it comes to rank of importance on the battlefield, "Signal is on the top of the list," Lynch said in his keynote address.

From the keynote address, there were many breakout sessions with leaders among the chief warrant officers, sergeants major and those in the FA-53 and FA-24 fields.

Also, nearly 30 retired and current general officers met during the course of the event.

Retired general officers included Lt. Gen. Peter Cuviello, former Chief of Signal and Department of the Army Staff Chief Information Officer/G6, Brig. Gen. Velma Richardson, who served as Fort Gordon's deputy commander under Cuviello, and Lt. Gen. Robert Gray, who served as Fort Gordon's commanding general and Chief of Signal, from 1991 to 1994.

Current general officers in attendance included Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, Chief Information Officer/G6; Maj. Gen. Dennis Via, commanding general USA Communications, Electronics Life Cycle Management Command; former Fort Gordon deputy commander, Brig. Gen. Ronald Bouchard, director, J6, United States Pacific Command; and Brig. Gen. Susan Lawrence, commanding general, United States Army Network, Enterprise Technology Command.

Other highlights of the week included the Signal Corps Hall of Fame induction dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 3, and a golf tournament to end the conference on Dec. 5.

Prior to the conference, Brig. Gen. Jeff Foley, Fort Gordon's commanding general and chief of Signal, said he especially looked forward to meeting with the retirees.

"There has been an absence of that. We want to introduce them and update them on Signal Regiment training and how we are doing at Fort Gordon," he said.

He added that he hoped this conference would become an annual event.

See more Signal Conference inside on Pages 6, 7, 8 and 9.