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SECNAV INNOVATION VISION

RTTUZYUW RUEWMCS0029 1041926-UUUU--RUCRNAV
ZNR UUUUU
R 152108Z APR 15
FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
TO ALNAV
INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
CNO WASHINGTON DC
CMC WASHINGTON DC
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UNCLAS

ALNAV 030/15

MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/APR//

SUBJ/SECNAV INNOVATION VISION//

REF/A/LTR/SECNAV MEMO/22JAN2015//

AMPN/ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE INNOVATION, SUBJ:  TASK FORCE INNOVATION//

RMKS/1.  The Department of Navy (DON) has an incredible history of turning 
bold ideas into operational reality and this tradition, more than any piece 
of equipment or technology, gives us our competitive advantage.  On 22 Jan 
2015, I established the Task Force Innovation to reach out to our Sailors, 
Marines, and Civilians and harness the creative energy they have, so that we 
can infuse those ideas into our operations and ensure our Naval preeminence 
for the foreseeable future. 

2.  There is no doubt that innovation is occurring in the Navy and Marine 
Corps today, as it has for over the past two hundred years, but I want to 
reinvigorate that culture of innovation, enable innovative people and 
organizations to connect, and focus on five essential elements:

a.  Build the Naval Innovation Network.  We will create a forum for 
innovators to collaborate, exchange best practices, and submit their ideas to 
improve the organization.  This will be supported by a new incentive 
structure to encourage and reward innovative people and organizations.

b.  Manage the Talent of the DON Workforce Better.  With the diversity of 
thought and expertise in the DON, our community of warfighters is growing far 
beyond the conventional definition of the word.  Modernizing our personnel 
system is critical to our ability to attract, develop, and retain the people 
with the skill sets we're looking for in the future.  That means implementing 
flexibility into career paths, better recognizing and rewarding performance, 
and ensuring the skills resident in our force are being put to their best 
use.  

c.  Improve the use of DON Information.  The DON collects more data every day 
than is stored in the Library of Congress.  We must harness the power of data 
analytics, improve information sharing and create operational knowledge.  The 
DON will only become a true learning organization by mastering the 
information cycle.

d.  Accelerate Emerging Operational Capabilities to the Fleet.  We cannot 
allow inefficient bureaucratic processes to slow new operational capabilities 
from getting into the hands of our warfighters.  As we enter the age of 
cyber, unmanned systems, and advanced manufacturing, we cannot allow these 
overly complex, form-over-substances, often useless, and harmful practices to 
prevent development of much needed capability, while simultaneously giving 
our potential adversaries the competitive advantage.  

e.  Develop Game-Changing Warfighting Concepts.  Our collective innovation 
efforts must ultimately benefit our ability to project Naval power and 
maintain freedom of access to the global commons.  We must fundamentally 
change how we think about our future operating environment and create 
innovative and effective Naval concepts across the range of military 
operations.
 
3.  Over the next 100 days, I will begin to implement the innovation agenda 
for the DON.  During this period, I am looking to Commanders at all levels of 
the Navy and Marine Corps to discuss innovation with their Sailors and 
Marines and focus on understanding the importance of taking calculated risks, 
diversity of thought, and allowing people to sometimes fail in a learning 
environment.  Continually ask how we can do this better for ourselves and for 
the Fleet.

4.  For more information on the DON's innovation focus areas, or to submit 
your ideas, visit:  www.secnav.navy.mil/innovation/.

5.  Detailed remarks on the DON's culture of innovation delivered by the 
Secretary of the Navy at the 2015 Sea, Air, and Space Exposition are 
available at: 
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/people/secnav/Mabus/Speech/SAS_Final%20AS%20PREP
ARED%20(2).pdf.

5.  Released by Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy.//

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