CRANE, Ind. –
Daniel Sweeney was serving in the Air National Guard at the 181st Intelligence Wing in Terre Haute, Indiana when he was accepted into a program to work at a Navy research and development (R&D) laboratory less than two hours away. The Personnel Force Innovation (PFI) program places active-duty service members at Department of Defense (DOD) agency tours.
“DOD agencies can tap into the PFI program to bring in service members to work with or fill gaps,” said Sweeney.
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) leverages this program to do more than fill gaps—they have built a partnership with the Air Force to bring 181st intelligence professionals, like Sweeney, to the lab to rapidly build tools for warfighters.
Sweeney spent five years as an Air Force Intelligence Analyst. When he was nearing the end of his activation orders, he became interested in the PFI program because it provided a yearlong tour and exposure to new opportunities.
“I spent the last year of [my PFI orders] at Crane,” said Sweeney. “Towards the end of it, I was looking for employment opportunities outside of the uniform. I was ready to start the next chapter, get some continuity in my life, and I felt Crane was a good fit.”
During the PFI program at NSWC Crane, Sweeney said he saw how his experience in-uniform benefited the technology development process.
“[The PFI program] is a good way for service members, like myself, and others, to take some time away from operations and participate in Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E)” said Sweeney. “It was great to support the Crane team and provide the warfighter perspective. There are a lot of bright engineers and scientists here that put together and maintain very complex systems. Along the way, I was able to draw from my experiences to help describe real-world environments where warfighters would potentially employ said systems, while also learning the technical sides of things.”
Nicholas Schuetz is the Deputy Division Manager for Force Level Electromagnetic Warfare at NSWC Crane, which is a group that works to protect warfighters from threats in the spectrum. Schuetz said bringing service members into the Scientist and Engineering teams like Sweeney and the 181st Intelligence Wing brings crucial knowledge to the technology development process.
“Our partnership with the U.S. Air Force and the 181st establishes a better pipeline and ability to pull in real-world Intelligence Community data into the NSWC Crane national Naval laboratory,” said Schuetz. “Their expertise allows us to quickly analyze the threats and produce Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) solutions more rapidly. Establishing these relationships is critical in the ability to quickly get data from a theater area of responsibility (AOR) directly to the technical subject matter experts (SMEs) that can then quickly make modifications and defeat those threats.”
Bringing the end-users together in the same lab to work alongside engineers creates synergy.
“There are huge benefits to tying military and government civilian scientist and engineers together working on operational problem sets,” said Schuetz. “This intentionally created ecosystem fosters a rapid understanding of how to perform Mission Engineering and Force Level Electromagnetic Warfare evaluations. With military men and women understanding how things work operationally and the scientists and engineers understanding how things theoretically work—this allows for a perfect convergence of thought for the rapid analyses and deployment of capabilities.”
.png?ver=1qm3fG5YAPjKS_QpHu7Ygw%3d%3d "Daniel Sweeney photographed receiving an award at NSWC Crane from CAPT Boonyobhas.")
The PFI program provides DOD agencies like NSWC Crane a cost-effective talent pool with highly valuable end-user expertise.
“This relationship between the Intelligence Community (IC) and NSWC Crane, a national naval laboratory, is critical for the DoD by providing the ability to rapidly analyze threats, understand, and have worldwide situational awareness, ultimately enhancing our efficiency for providing lifesaving solutions,” said Schuetz. “This model effectively saves time, increases quality through having the use closer to the design process, and ultimately avoids costs.”
Though he didn’t know much about NSWC Crane prior to starting, Sweeney transitioned to become a Mission Engineer at the lab after completing the PFI program. He gained valuable insight during his tour at NSWC Crane.
“Being an Intelligence Analyst and operator for some years, there was a lot I knew operationally,” said Sweeney. “But as far as the engineering side the hardware, software, firmware, and everything else that goes into it, I didn’t really know much about that. It was very eye-opening and educational. If I had stayed active duty, this newfound comprehension would have been extremely beneficial to take back to the operational world, granted I’m now a reservist and get to do that regardless to some extent.”
Sweeney recommends the program to National Guard and Reserve service members.
“The PFI program allows for an opportunity to get out and expose yourself to unfamiliar professional areas. I would absolutely recommend the experience. NSWC Crane has provided a comfort of living, work/life balance, education, and I’ve truly enjoyed it.”
He encouraged those interested in the program to be patient and look for problems that need a solution.
“Be open minded and willing to look for your own problems within the mission and attempt to solve them yourself—don’t become stagnant or complacent. Place yourself where you think you can do the most good for the community.”
About NSWC Crane | NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electromagnetic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today's Warfighter.