An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : Article View
NEWS | Jan. 13, 2025

NAVSEA Launches Enterprise Strategy

By NAVSEA Office of Corporate Communications

WASHINGTON, DC – Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has launched an enterprise strategy to better synchronize operational lines of effort with emerging Navy-wide strategic imperatives.

NAVSEA Commander, Vice Adm. Jim Downey, guided development of the new framework aligned with the Chief of Naval Operation’s Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy, which charged commands to reassess operations through a warfighting lens and to increase the Navy’s capability and capacity so the Fleet can be ready to surge effectively, when called.

“CNO depends on the NAVSEA enterprise to get the Navy’s ships and their warfighting systems designed, delivered, maintained, and sustained to meet global national security requirements,” said Downey.  “So, NAVSEA is accelerating efforts to put more players on the field—that is, platforms, ready with the right capabilities, weapons, and sustainment support.”

NAVSEA is one of the Navy's systems commands and employs civilian, active-duty military, and reservist professionals worldwide who build, maintain and modernize Navy aircraft carriers, submarines, ships, and associated systems in support of operational forces.

The organization and the affiliated Program Executive Offices also manage more than 150 acquisition programs as well as foreign military sales programs, encompassing billions of dollars in annual military sales to partner nations.

NAVSEA Enterprise Strategy

In Fall 2024, CNO Adm. Lisa Franchetti set a North Star for the Navy: Readiness for sustained high-end joint and combined combat by 2027.  NAVSEA’s new strategic framework is designed to bring that direction to fruition, aligning NAVSEA activities to better focus on Navy priorities, guided by predictive analytics and data-driven decision making, with five core lines of effort (LOEs):

LOE 1:  Accelerate force generation to deliver ships and combat systems

LOE 2:  Generate readiness to maintain, modernize, and sustain platforms

LOE 3:  Generate, capture, and use data to drive innovation

LOE 4:  Strengthen the Navy team by attracting, retaining, and growing the NAVSEA workforce

LOE 5:  Strengthen the foundation, enhancing NAVSEA’s critical infrastructure

The NAVSEA commander explained that the new strategy is the product of an enterprise-wide self-assessment process that will make the organization better over time.

“Nothing was off the table when we started this process last May,” said Downey, “and since then, we’ve realigned departments, merged similar functions, and streamlined command operations to enable greater focus on these lines of effort.”

Since assuming command of NAVSEA in January 2024, Downey has implemented a Commander’s Action Group, established a Force Improvement Office to accelerate NAVSEA’s culture of problem solving and innovation, and restructured the command’s operational centers in alignment with the CNO’s Navigation Plan.

Working with NAVSEA’s Executive Director, Chris Miller, SES, and leaders across the enterprise, Downey also re-established a Sustainment Directorate (SEA 06), appointing a Deputy Commander for Sustainment and Chief Logistician to drive improvements in the life-cycle sustainment of platforms and weapons system, maximizing logistical support and shifting the mindset of how NAVSEA supplies parts and delivers materials from “just in time” to “just in case.”

In addition, the command decoupled the positions of Deputy Commander, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair (SUPSHIP) and Executive Director, Industrial Operations (SEA 04) to emphasize the importance of delivering and sustaining more players on the field.

“With more than 90 ships under contract, SUPSHIP has an expansive level of responsibility,” said Downey. “This new realignment puts SUPSHIP in a better position to oversee and administer the Navy’s new construction programs across the directorate.”

Downey added, “Of course, NAVSEA’s greatest asset is its people—the Force Behind the Fleet, and we must give these professionals all the tools and the world-class environment they need to meet a mission with such global consequence.”

Miller agrees, noting that the NAVSEA team works hard every day to ensure that the organization is positioned to deliver ships on time, ready for tasking, and at an affordable cost.

“They’re assessing challenges, identifying barriers, making data-informed decisions, and finding innovative solutions to meet the complex operational challenges of a fleet that sails globally to ensure freedom of the seas,” said Miller.

For more information on the NAVSEA Enterprise Strategy, visit us here https://www.navsea.navy.mil/About/Strategy/