WEST BETHESDA, Md. –
Being part of an organization requires its members to give their best effort in contributing to the overall success of the establishment, and Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division is no different.
For a command that is historically revered as being at the forefront of naval innovation, much of that success has come from the years of selfless work in support of the Navy. On Oct. 10, Carderock veteran employee Jack Lee in the Hydrodynamics and Maneuvering Simulation Branch addressed the importance of supporting the fleet through daily work in this month’s Rear Adm. David Taylor Naval Architectural Lecture, titled “Supporting the Fleet: An Engineering Perspective.”
“What have you done for the fleet today?” Lee asked to begin his lecture, quoting Naval Surface and Undersea Warfare Centers Executive Director Don MCormack’s email signature line. Lee is no stranger to civilian naval service himself, with 22 years of experience at Carderock and 13 at the Washington Navy Yard before he returned to the command last year. In his previous time at Carderock, Lee’s work focused on resistance and powering and propulsors, as well as maneuvering and control.
According to version 2.0 of “A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority,” released by Chief Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson last December, “Our Navy will protect America from attack, promote American prosperity and preserve strategic influence.” While there may be different ideas on how to preserve that level of superiority, Lee highlighted three facets of influence that makes up what he calls the force behind the fleet.
The fleet is only as effective as the people who work within it and people need to feel empowered and motivated to do their jobs well. Those jobs consist of projects and research that the fleet has to invest in, and affordability remains a constant factor in what projects are completed. Lee emphasized the importance of naval engineers making every dollar count, streamlining processes to reduce timelines and lower costs, as well as leveraging their digital tools, technologies and data analytics to keep their work affordable. Through these projects, engineers should regularly engage in collaboration and knowledge sharing, creating a high-velocity learning environment.
Carderock has its own five-year Strategic Plan, which Lee discussed. It combines the operational needs of the Navy and the technical inputs of the command to form a practical submarine and shipbuilding process. Elements of the operational needs include assumptions, scenarios and threat, mission and effectiveness analyses. Gross-system optimization and schedule, cost and feasibility studies make up the command’s technical inputs.
To bring his lecture full circle, Lee went into further detail of the command’s mission in addition to how the aforementioned force behind the fleet and the command’s Strategic Plan make the mission possible.
“Our mission is to provide full-spectrum research and development, test and evaluation, analysis, acquisition, and fleet support for the Navy’s ships, ship systems and associated Navy logistics systems,” Lee said. “Our vision is to be the Navy’s trusted partner for identifying and providing world-class, cost-effective and innovative technical solutions for advanced ships and ship systems, enabling the warfighter to execute their missions and maintain their technological edge.”
More than 2,400 employees make up the Carderock team and each person plays a vital role in the command’s contribution to a greater Navy. Although the needs from the people vary by positions, meeting the requirements Lee addressed are certain to keep the command in line with its tradition of innovation.