IN MY OWN WORDS

CHRISTOPHER THAYER
Director, Strategic Planning
Military Sealift Command

Prior to 9/11, I don't think we could have predicted the type of readiness footing we are on now.

I'm the director of strategic planning for the Military Sealift Command (MSC). The directorate was established in 2000 when I came back from a year's sabbatical at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Before I left, I was the deputy director of operations and I was pretty burned out on day-to-day operations. It was a hectic pace. And my boss said, "you're going to have new horizons when you come back." MSC was focused operationally on day-to-day activities and we wanted an organization that would concentrate on the future. So I brought this directorate together. I have 14 people on my staff, and we focus on where the Navy and the U.S. Transportation Command is going.

We were a working capital fund organization, dependent on our customers and their budget and their mission. Some existing customers had growing missions that increased the need for services that we provided to them. Others had missions that were decreasing. One example was the undersea surveillance community and the ships that we operate for them.

We concluded that our business base and our structure and our ability to perform our mission were not really in our hands. So we basically started marketing our capabilities to other Navy, DOD, and civilian government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) that operate small numbers of vessels and could benefit from a worldwide organization that operates about 110 ships day-to-day. We had some early victories. We continue to provide services for EPA and we're doing that now for NOAA. We're also doing some smaller things for the Coast Guard. And we're taking our case to other areas of the Navy that operate non-combatant vessels, such as command ships, submarine tenders, and salvage ships. The first of those, the USS Coronado, was transferred to MSC in mid-November. That's something that we started working on a year ago.

One of our newer proposals is to help the Missile Defense Agency develop a test platform for a new interceptor missile. Three years ago, could I have forecast that MSC would be doing that? I don't know. It is a completely new business area because traditionally we've been in the transportation business and the auxiliary ship business.

Being a strategist and forecasting the future is difficult because the missions and the threats continue to change. Prior to 9/11, I don't think we could have predicted the type of readiness footing we are on now, and the deployments we've done and all the force protection requirements that we have to integrate into our mission.

There is not a formal forum for Navy strategists that meets on a regular basis. We work with the folks at the U.S. Transportation Command and their long-range planning group. And we work through what I call the electronic medium--email, online forums--that the Navy has for developments related to Sea Power 21. We have the Navy's vision. We are continuously looking at Sea Basing and opportunities that are going to present themselves. And then we put on the table what MSC can do to support future Sea Basing requirements.

We're constantly watching for innovations in transportation, such as the use of airships and high-speed vessels. That's an area where the Navy wants to go. And we stepped up to the plate and are providing a couple of high-speed vessels to support the Navy and the Marine Corps with this new type of technology.

MSC is a fun place to work because of all of the different maritime things we are involved in. That's why I endeavored to come and work here soon after I graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy. I sailed for MSC as a midshipman, and got a little preview what it was like. MSC has been a great organization, and I think will continue to be a leader in delivering innovative maritime solutions that support our national security objectives.