NAVSEA Sets 'Sea Enterprise' Revolution in Motion

Sea Enterprise is a major revolution in the way the Navy supports ships at sea, and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is working to support that revolution, said its commander. Vice Adm. Phillip Balisle addressed NAVSEA's role in Sea Enterprise and how it is realigning its organization to better support the 21st century Navy at the 15th annual Surface Navy Association National Symposium on January 17 in Arlington, Va.

Sea Enterprise, part of the strategic triad in the Chief of Naval Operations' Sea Power 21 vision, seeks to improve organizational alignment, refine requirements, and reinvest savings to buy the platforms and systems needed to transform our Navy and deliver increased combat capability. Changing the way NAVSEA does business is necessary, Balisle said, because the environment in which the Navy operates has changed.

"The Navy played a key role in the United States winning the Cold War, by developing a rotational force that was sent forward consistently with a predictable set of capabilities to show America's might," said Balisle. "At the same time, the Navy created the appropriate shore infrastructure to support that force. "But, the world is different today," he continued. "We face both an unpredictable enemy and an unpredictable battlefield." The Navy's challenge, Balisle said, is to build a capabilities-based force that is responsive and flexible with the right capabilities to match the circumstance, as well as shape the shore infrastructure necessary to support this new force. "Sea Enterprise is more than just saving money," said Balisle. "It is a major revolution in how we support a Navy at sea in this new arena." NAVSEA is already setting that revolution in motion, with initiatives such as distance support. Distance support leverages state-of-the-art information technology connectivity to link ships at sea with technical centers ashore in real time. Distance support will be critical for the Navy to forward position ships and keep them on station for extended periods of time. "We've made a lot of progress [with distance support], but we've only just begun," said Balisle. "Our challenge is to change our shore infrastructure to provide 24/7 support to the fleet." To accomplish that, the organizational boundaries must fade away. Shore forces must operate across boundaries the same way the sea-going forces do.

NAVSEA recently realigned its organization to better serve the Fleet by eliminating those boundaries. The new command structure reflects a realignment of its program executive offices. NAVSEA also stood up two new directorates, Warfare Systems Engineering (SEA 06) and Human Systems Integration (SEA 03). SEA 06, organized to deal with Combat Systems and Systems of Systems issues, works hand in hand with the new Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems. SEA 03, NAVSEA's "point" for the CNO's Revolution in Training initiatives, Sailor Performance certification and Task Force Excel alignment, consolidates the PEOs' individual efforts to implement human systems integration aboard ships under one directorate. In addition, NAVSEA is working with Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Supply Systems Command and Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command to create the "virtual SYSCOM," different organizations working together to improve interoperability and provide even better support to the Fleet. "We can no longer be compared to the old paradigm," said Balisle. "Sea Enterprise is not a tweaking of the old way of doing business, but developing a new way of doing business. We must change if we are to build the Navy of the 21st century." Source: NAVSEA