On the WEST 2024 Convention in San Diego, a various group of panelists joined retired Vice Adm. Ann Rondeau, president of the Naval Postgraduate College (NPS), on Feb. 14 to debate the significance of resolution benefit and the clearest option to obtain it: by means of training, analysis, and finally innovation.
The panel, titled “Neurons and Networks: Educating and Innovating Our Option to Determination Benefit,” sought to discover how the Navy and Marine Corps can leverage their studying and technical establishments extra purposefully and work with business companions to speed up “ideas to functionality” at better velocity and scale.
“Neurons and networks, they each require interconnectivity. They each require a relationship, whether or not or not it’s with neurons or with others in a community,” stated Rondeau, who served because the panel’s moderator. “What we’re after is knowing the neurons and the networks that can hold us not solely alive, but additionally combating the struggle and profitable the struggle.”
In the course of the free-flowing, hour-long dialogue, which featured panelists asking questions of one another, Rondeau was joined by two senior Division of the Navy leaders – U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy, Deputy Commandant for Data, and U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Doug Small, commander of Naval Data Warfare Methods Command (NAVWAR).
The opposite panelists had been Ph.D. college students – Navy Lt. Zachary Vrtis, an NPS scholar pursuing his doctorate in mechanical engineering, and Justin Norman, Appearing Portfolio Director/Technical Director for Synthetic Intelligence and Machine Studying on the Protection Innovation Unit (DIU) and a Marine Corps Reserve officer.
Because the Marines’ high officer on Data Surroundings issues, Glavy provided his perspective on data as a operate of warfighting, in addition to utilizing data to realize resolution benefit – a part of what Glavy describes as serving to Marines “make their very own luck.”
“All of the folks in uniform know this, however data is likely one of the seven joint warfighting capabilities,” stated Glavy. “So it is necessary that we really perceive why that’s necessary – that commanders and staffs, if they do not plan to how they are going to use data after which execute to it, they are not going to achieve success.”
Glavy additionally talked in regards to the significance of command and management in reaching resolution benefit.
“Command and management, actually the essence of it, will get to resolution making, proper? I imply, that’s the core piece of how commanders finally command and management,” stated Glavy. “Command and management is, how does one acquire that call benefit in a well timed trend – combining with expertise to finally acquire that benefit.”
Small picked up on Glavy’s feedback and talked about how resolution benefit could be enabled by means of high-priority tasks resembling Challenge Overmatch, a Division of the Navy effort to ship a extra deadly, better-connected fleet of the longer term.
“From the programs command perspective and Overmatch, what we have been making an attempt to do is, how do you measure resolution benefit?” stated Small. “We throw that time period round, however how can we measure it? A few of that’s stepping into, how do commanders make choices?
“The entire thought is to take loads of the grind work out of the decision-making course of to permit people to have the house to investigate and whatnot. And I am considering that in all probability places a premium on training of these commanders and of the folks which can be a part of that course of.”
Whereas Small talked in regards to the technique of creating Overmatch and different know-how warfighters want, Rondeau spoke from her perspective on how NPS and different Division of Protection instructional establishments develop the expertise required by the Navy, Marine Corps and joint pressure.
“There’s an assumption that when folks come into NPS, they’ve in some method a mastery of their proficiency of their craft,” Rondeau responded. “What we then do is then broaden information, and the information is what we are attempting to not solely perceive in a extra subtle method, the mastery, but additionally then to use it. So I take a look at NPS as a sandbox for actually testing what you understand and testing what you do not know and to understanding the place you fail, succeed, attempt once more, reset, perceive, and to do it shortly. And so there may be an alacrity of software that the graduate expertise needs to be giving to the warfighter.”
After an change of ideas from the 2 senior leaders on the panel, Rondeau turned to Norman and Vrtis, each of whom are presently pursuing their doctorate research – Vrtis at NPS, Norman on the College of California, Berkeley.
Norman introduced each navy and business expertise and perspective to the panel. A Naval Academy graduate, Norman labored for firms starting from Booz Allen Hamilton to Cisco and Yelp earlier than transitioning to DIU. And he spoke at size about innovation – extra particularly, about how the method of innovation is simply as necessary, if no more so, than the outcomes.
“I feel what’s necessary to remember is that innovation is, by definition, uncomfortable,” stated Norman. “If we had been doing issues nicely or to the diploma of depth that we anticipated for the result we needed, we would not have to undergo an innovation course of.
“As we take into consideration what mindset we’re in search of as we glance by means of DOD, look how we will develop, we’re now going through challenges which can be fairly frankly, after I take into consideration them, a few of the most tough issues that the federal government, that the DOD and that our civilian industrial base have ever undertook,” Norman added. “So we won’t go into it with the identical mindset, we won’t use the identical instruments, and we won’t use the identical innovation processes.”
As a Ph.D. scholar at NPS, Vrtis is experiencing innovation firsthand. His analysis focuses on functions of additive manufacturing (AM) know-how and the way it can higher help fleet wants – a topic of curiosity to Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT), who visited NPS earlier than touring to WEST 2024.
“What I briefed Admiral Paparo about, and what he cares about because the Pacific Fleet commander, is how are we bringing metallic additive manufacturing to assist the fleet,” stated Vrtis, who additionally serves as the scholar lead for NPS’ Consortium for Superior Manufacturing Analysis and Schooling (CAMRE), in addition to the Naval Innovation Middle’s Additive Manufacturing Workforce. “We’re working to extend the operational availability of fleet items by figuring out and producing elements which can be appropriate for additive manufacturing. … now we have the scholars at NPS that may assist with that effort, and collectively we will innovate collectively to repair these (points) and make this higher now.”
In flip, Norman famous the efforts of Vrtis and different NPS college students to push the boundaries of innovation.
“I might encourage, particularly as you return to the fleet, so that you can be the advocate for the funding, be the advocate for the dimensions, be the advocate for the partnership between business and between the Division of Protection, since you’re really uniquely located between all three,” stated Norman.
Likewise, Glavy additionally expressed appreciation for the contributions of NPS college students and graduates to the Marine Corps.
“As we undergo pressure design, which may be very information-centric, all these epicenters of greatness the place we see breakthroughs – I will be sincere with you, there’s an NPS grad in the course of it,” stated Glavy.
The Naval Postgraduate College gives defense-focused graduate training, together with labeled research and interdisciplinary analysis, to advance the operational effectiveness, technological management and warfighting benefit of the Naval service. For added data, go to NPS on-line at https://nps.edu.
