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August 12th signifies my one-year anniversary as your Technical Director, and I cannot believe
that a year has passed already.
It is somewhat bittersweet that I celebrated this milestone while on furlough, but we all
have had to take a few punches in a year that brought
us a few surprises.
I continue to be impressed with the way all of you have handled sequestration impacts
without ever losing sight of your ultimate purpose which
is to support the finest warfighting force the world has ever
seen.
This month’s View from the Bridge will first reflect back on my first year in office, and
then finish up by looking forward into the year ahead.
The last year has seen significant improvement in several key metrics that we use to assess
command readiness.
Customer engagement: Today, we enjoy an excellent relationship with all of our major customers,
and we are much better aligned to “one voice”
than ever before.
Inter-departmental cooperation: Every Department Head was assigned a performance objective
this year “to demonstrate that you are working
to make your fellow department heads successful.”
I am pleased to see the senior leadership working as an interactive and interdependent
team to meet the goals and objectives of the Command, and
to find ways to efficiently and effectively share resources
to get work done.
With the budget challenges that lie ahead, we will have to be even more creative and
cooperative in the future; and we will need your help – everyone
pulling together with a sense of “personal accountability”
for the success of the Command.
Increased technical rigor: Seafox, DJC2 Marine Corps variants, LCS MCM MP testing, support
of legacy MCM systems, SDV repair and overhauls, and
contracts execution are just a few of the successful
significant work efforts we have led over the last year; and the incidences of failure
due to lack of discipline and procedures are declining.
The competency construct we initiated through the rollout of our new strategic plan is moving
out smartly; and the Captain and I are confident
this will be a win-win for leadership seeking more discipline
in work execution, and for individual employees seeking to take ownership and control over
their professional growth and progress.
Looking forward into the next year, we will continue to struggle with the impacts of sequestration
and dramatic reductions in defense dollars.
To survive, we will need to continue to work to be the best of the best and bring rigor
and discipline to the job every day, deliver real value through
timely execution of products and services, and question
requirements that do not add value or come at too high of a cost.
In addition, the Captain and I will be leading a number of initiatives through our strategic
Plan implementation designed to continue to keep
PCD strong and relevant to our Navy and Marine Corps
customers.
Preservation of Technical Capabilities: Pressure to reduce the size of the workforce is already
beginning. We will be developing Product-Based Business
Plans for all our major product lines to guide and justify
continued investments in PCD employees, along with the facilities and equipment you need
to remain relevant today and in the future.
Eliminating barriers: The Captain made a huge impact with his new ITPR policy – we heard
the cheers from around the Command when he released it
last month. We will continue to methodically challenge
unnecessary, costly and over-burdensome compliance requirements that frustrate you and make your
jobs much harder than they need to be.
Execution excellence: Over the course of our 68- year history we have several times been
in the spotlight to support programs critical to
the success of the Naval mission.
Today, we are in the spotlight for the LCS MCM mission package – very likely the single
most complex program ever assigned to this Command. LCS
touches every department and it is absolutely critical that
we do everything we can to make this program successful.
The Navy is counting on us more than ever before, and this is our opportunity to shine
as a Command. I am confident we will be successful because
I have seen over the last year how competent and
committed all of you are to this program’s success.
Even in the face of furloughs, your biggest concern has been the impact to a tighter schedule
on the road to I-O-T and E.
Strengthening the PCD brand: Success in all of our programs will hinge on our ability
to work as an integrated team.
The Captain and I want you to always be mindful of the PCD brand. Celebrate each other’s
successes. Get involved to help identify and address
weaknesses and make things better, and never denigrate the
brand outside the PCD family.
Increased stakeholder collaboration: Partnerships with other Warfare Center Divisions will be
critical to getting the work done with diminished resources.
The Captain and I will be sponsoring a number of initiatives designed to break down organizational
barriers and get us working more collaboratively with each other.
This will not only stimulate innovation, but will give us an opportunity to leverage each
other’s strengths, and hopefully avoid unnecessarily
duplicating investments during a time when every dollar
will count.
Visible leadership: My personal goal is to spend less time in building 110.
I pledge in year two to get out of my office more and spend more time with you, hearing
about the work you are doing, getting your direct feedback
on what we can do together to make your work life better
and more productive.
Thank you for making my first year a success.
Thank you for making me feel at home here in PCD from day one, and thank you for what
you do for our warfighters every day.
I believe that what we do here at PCD for our nation’s Sailors and Marines is an honorable
way to spend one’s life’s work.
You have much to be proud of and the Captain and I are honored to lead a stellar workforce
that is second to none.
I look forward to seeing you, talking with all of you in the coming year, and hearing
about your PCD experience.
Until then, keep charging!