By GEORGE P. NANOS JR.
Vice Adm. George P. "Pete" Nanos Jr. is commander, Naval Sea Systems Command.

Arriving with tremendous hype and celebration, the 21st century is offering excitement and change at speeds we have never before encountered. This new millennium is advancing information systems, expanding knowledge, and introducing startling new technologies. All of us feel this change in so many aspects of our lives--from eBusiness on the Internet to eAppliances in the home. In fact, the citizens of the world truly are experiencing a transformation in their lives. It is a personal and global renaissance, causing a rebirth of mind and spirit.

NAVSEA--the Naval Sea Systems Command--is in renaissance too. This revival is both exciting and challenging to its nearly 50,000 professionals. During the past two years, the NAVSEA "family" has been reborn as a single corporation, rededicating ourselves to "keeping America's Navy #1 in the world."

NAVSEA and its predecessors have served the fleet for more than 200 years. We have played major roles this past century, along with so many others, in creating and supporting the world's most powerful and capable Navy, which contributed mightily to winning both the Cold War and the Gulf War for the United States and our allies. We were here yesterday, we are here today, and we will be here for the next millennium!

The fleet's solution provider, NAVSEA is unmatched in both knowledge and experience relating to the design of ships and combat systems, as well as their life-cycle support. As our customers identify problems, we have the capability, resources, and energy to implement the most effective and efficient solutions. NAVSEA has led the technology innovation at each stage as our Navy evolved from sail to steam, and from diesel to nuclear propulsion. Ready for the next great technology leaps, NAVSEA is becoming an agile learning organization strongly embracing millennial change, responding at high speed, and inserting cutting-edge technology.

A Fleet Focus

We are dedicated to fixing fleet problems now. Capitalizing on our unity, stability, capability, and agility, NAVSEA delivers. Daily we track the fleet around the world and anticipate its need for solutions--often responding before assistance is requested. At NAVSEA, we do all of this so we can keep America's Navy #1 in the world. How do we do that? How can we keep our Navy on the cutting edge? How can we give our Sailors the very best ships, combat systems, and life-cycle support? It isn't easy, but NAVSEA professionals relish the challenge and excitement.

Our renaissance is marked by renewed vigor. It embraces change and unleashes creativity. First, we defined our core equities--those unique technical capabilities and skills that NAVSEA must develop and retain in order to sustain the U.S. Navy in the future. Then, to ensure these equities directly supported Navy missions and goals, we aligned ourselves organizationally to create a whole greater than the sum of the parts. We are integrating this diverse effort to operate as a single organization--aligned, coordinated, and steaming on the same course and speed. This has been a key to NAVSEA's rebirth.

In an interview for the April 1999 Sea Power, I emphasized NAVSEA's tre-mendous rate of change and promised to provide the fleet "Customer Service, Second to None." What a difference a year makes. Our vision has been far-reaching and our strides have been steady in providing world-class service and support to the fleet. You need only visit NAVSEA City 2000 at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition to see and experience it.

A demonstration of NAVSEA's Distance Support program illustrates our adoption of cutting-edge technology in eBusiness to support the fleet with telemaintenance. This electronic connection, supported also with a "24/7" call center (877-4-1-TOUCH) staffed 24 hours a day/seven days a week, provides high-quality support to the fleet around the world. When the fleet has a question or problem, we have a way to assist with e-mail, video connection, or a call to a real person. With just one e-mail to http://www.fleetsupport.navy.mil we can leverage Web-based support jointly at Navy systems commands to provide a more immediate response. These new technical-support resources enable NAVSEA to be a leader in providing maintenance assistance anywhere in the world--electronically, telephonically, and personally.

To achieve naval-force interoperability, the chief of naval operations (CNO) designated NAVSEA to resolve a number of major issues and impediments. In response, NAVSEA developed an alliance of shore-based technologies, creating a testing and evaluation capability that had never before been attempted--a system called the Distributed Engineering Plant (DEP--see Sea Power, March 2000). It moves battle group (BG) system testing ashore, identifies and resolves problems before deployment, and replicates BG operations anywhere in the world. DEP already has contributed significantly to BG training, testing, and readiness. NAVSEA's skilled professionals developed, tested, and made this concept operational in approximately 10 months. The future holds the possibility for additional applications with joint and allied forces.

Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig and Adm. Jay L. Johnson, the CNO, are leading efforts to maximize Sailors' effectiveness by improving both their quality of life and work. Important among these efforts has been NAVSEA's Capital Investment for Labor (CIL) program, which includes 18 specific initiatives. CIL includes contractor-preservation teams, use of long-lasting and environmentally friendly coatings, new ergonomic power tools, and a variety of specialized paints. The guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher has experienced very positive results from the work of two contractor-preservation teams. One officer said, "The work was done quickly with the most advanced marine technology--which we don't have aboard ship; it looks great, and it will repay us every day."

USS Mitscher's commanding officer, Cdr. Frank C. Pandolfe, estimated three years of repetitive work will be saved--more than 650 items were removed from the ship for powder-coating treatment. Not only did the quality of preservation improve, but the use of contractor teams provided Sailors many more hours for professional development, a reduction in their workload, and more time with family. Mitscher's current junior officer retention is 100 percent, and enlisted retention is 69 percent. NAVSEA's effort at quality-of-life and work improvement will greatly enhance Navy retention and recruiting.

In concert with these efforts at improving the way Sailors live and work, NAVSEA also has launched a major initiative to reduce unnecessary or duplicative surface ship and submarine maintenance. As part of this initiative, detailed SUBMER and SURFMER studies have identified and eliminated literally hundreds of unneeded tasks, yielding a savings of thousands of hours for Sailors.

These efforts, along with many more, demonstrate NAVSEA's exceptional technical leadership within the Navy. During the past year, NAVSEA professionals led the Navy's answer to the Y2K computer challenge because of our involvement in so many shipboard systems. Our hard work and coordination across the Navy made this effort a remarkable success.

Best Business Practices

NAVSEA's renaissance also includes leading the effort to adopt best business practices and to test commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products. Both of these initiatives have made tremendous impact on the way NAVSEA does business. NAVSEA's Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Ind., for example, proved the effectiveness of a coordinated commandwide business-process review, while PEO (Program Executive Office) Team Submarine won recognition by receiving a vice presidential government-reform Hammer Award for its Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion efforts throughout the system-design process for nuclear-powered submarines. These and many other innovative programs have made NAVSEA the recipient of more Hammer Awards than any other Navy command.

We have excelled at supporting our people and adopting the most promising human-resource techniques. During 1999, the Covey Institute recognized NAVSEA headquarters and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard with awards for their implementation of Principle-Centered Leadership. These were special honors--recognizing NAVSEA's emphasis on realignment, performance enhancement, and the introduction of nearly two dozen major initiatives. All of this illustrates successful leadership and results-oriented performance that enable the delivery and support of the most capable and powerful Navy in the world.

Nothing better attests to this leadership and performance than one of NAVSEA's most magnificent performers, our salvage and diving professionals. They have undertaken some of the most perilous and dramatic missions during the past several years, including salvage of military aircraft, TWA 800, Egypt Air 990, Alaska Air 261, and more. Their performance underscores why they are considered a national treasure. One of their Remote Operating Vehicles (ROVs) is displayed in NAVSEA City 2000.

These are but a few of NAVSEA's thousands of accomplishments, many of which are detailed in our Year in Review 1999 publication. Specifically, we are listening closely to the fleet--talking to Sailors daily so we can be entirely responsive to their need for technical assessments and solutions. We are pleased with our successes; however, there still is much work to do.

Partnering With PEOs

With our PEO partners, we are establishing new standards for the future in devising and executing acquisition strategies and life-cycle support. The PEOs are the key to the Navy of the future, and Navy success in the long term is dependent on how closely we coordinate all facets of their efforts among the entire NAVSEA Family. The complexity of acquiring new ships and combat systems, and determining in advance the most effective ways to support them during the next 40 years, is quite daunting. As partners, we work closely and effectively together.

A most impressive example is the visionary planning of the new Virginia-class submarine, the first submarine class to incorporate support features for special operations forces from the inception of the design process. This new class of submarines is being designed to accommodate future modifications in order to permit an affordable method of inserting advanced technology. This foresight is expected to greatly reduce the need for design changes during construction--a major cause of cost increases.

The Surface-Strike Destroyer for the 21st Century program, called DD 21, expects revolutionary results from a competition between two industry teams. The use of an Integrated Power System will revolutionize combat systems capability and allow for the introduction of advanced weapons systems throughout the ship's life. Significant reductions to reduce total-ownership costs are expected. Selection of the winning approach is scheduled for fiscal year 2001.

Also sailing ahead in design is the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, LPD 17. Using a virtual-crew concept and other computer-aided-design tools, this revolutionary ship of the future is employing an Integrated Product Data Environment for the first time to improve the program's overall engineering and design processes. NAVSEA/PEO professionals are closely working with fleet Sailors and Marines to create a class of ships that will accommodate exactly the requirements they identify for performing their tasks at sea.

Major engineering advances in many other areas also are being leveraged in developing the so-called transition aircraft carrier, CVN 77, and the next-generation aircraft carrier, CVNX. With a new integrated combat system, the tenth and final Nimitz-class carrier will be a model in defining and evaluating innovative technologies and process improvements to enhance aviation support and aircraft carrier design. The CVNX program will use an evolutionary multiship process for inserting new technologies to enhance the ship's warfighting capabilities. Total-ownership costs therefore will be reduced dramatically.

Performance Comes First

Creating the fleet of the future is a complex effort made more challenging in today's technological swirl. However, within just the past two years, the NAVSEA/PEO/industry team has delivered or launched about 30 ships. This has been made possible by major efforts in the previous decade aimed at exploring new techniques and advances in ship design and construction. Besides the AEGIS cruiser-conversion program, which began in 1998, a large number of other programs are making important contributions to this impressive effort. While the list is too long to identify them all, some notable programs include:

• Environmental advances in the treatment of solid and oily waste, uniform discharge, and fluorocarbon (CFC) elimination;

• Enhancements in missile and torpedo development;

• Improvements in classified sensor arrays, electronic-warfare capabilities, and special warfare program support;

• Expansion of COTS in video display and other systems;

• Offensive and defense mine-warfare deployment and operations,

• Pilot programs to test new methods to dispose of ships safely and properly;

• Innovative leasing of underused NAVSEA properties (increasing cost avoidance); and

• Advanced techniques in the Affordability Through Commonality program as part of acquisition reform.

The future holds many challenges for us to consider, and the NAVSEA renaissance must continue for us to achieve our goals. At quarterly NAVSEA conferences, major initiatives are discussed, progress reports delivered, and new opportunities outlined. Some of the more interesting efforts currently underway or under consideration include:

• Improving business-planning processes and execution for the surface and undersea warfare centers, naval shipyards, and centers for innovation;

• Creating incentives to deliver more ships and increase maintenance with constant dollars--including a maintenance enterprise resource planning (ERP) effort and an efficient ship-modernization program;

• Developing strong partnerships with private shipyards to leverage process improvement and share technology;

• Planning and executing the large number of submarine overhauls and availabilities scheduled for the next several years;

• Enhancing bundled services and improved customer service for the fleet;

• Catching the eBusiness wave for Navy use--including transition to the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet;

• Attracting and retaining the most talented and productive military and civilian people;

• Improving and strengthening NAVSEA's corporate identity and function as a unified organization; and

• Establishing the conditions to create the most advanced and capable "Navy After Next."

The "good book" tells its followers not to hide their light under a bushel. That is true for business and government as well. We are working hard to establish a communication culture in which NAVSEA team members know and understand that performance always comes first, but that it must be accompanied by effective, positive communication with both our customers and our team members.

This requires NAVSEA to tell its story every day to those on the team, the fleet, the Navy and secretariat staffs, and all others interested in keeping America's Navy #1 in the world. Of course, this includes the executive branch, Congress, the Navy League, and the American people. That is why you saw NAVSEA City at last year's Sea-Air-Space Exposition and again this year. That is why you see high-quality exhibits and communication products telling the NAVSEA story. We are focused like a laser on performance, but riding on that laser beam is the story of how it was done and who did it.

Visit our website (www.navsea.navy.mil) regularly and learn more about the renaissance at NAVSEA--you will see how the NAVSEA team is working diligently every day "keeping America's Navy #1 in the world."