We must be ready to fight tonight…
Now, more than ever, we must continue the push to dominate our adversaries decisively on all fronts by directing our strengths toward Warfighting, Warfighters and the Future Fleet. The Navy is charged by Adm. Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, to operate and fight well forward and dispersed. We must enable effective and sustainable employment during Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) and Dynamic Force Employment (DFE). Supply and sustainment need to align to support operational requirements, and our NAVSUP Enterprise will play a critical role in making material available and developing sustainment solutions to support fleet warfighting objectives. In an increasingly dynamic operating environment, complacency can be disastrous. Business-as-usual will not suffice.
As we enter fiscal year 2020 (FY20), my Commander’s Intent emphasizes the priorities of our mission:
READINESS: We play a critical role in enabling readiness. Our contribution involves accurate inventories and material availability to ensure our warfighters have what they need, where and when they need it. Re-emphasizing our support of industrial sites will be a key tenet in our support to generating readiness. Supply professionals embedded at industrial sites, executing core responsibilities in material planning will partner to significantly improve timeliness of availabilities. We must understand what moves the readiness needle today and in the future for each domain’s Performance to Plan (P2P) initiative. We must master data-driven decision making to design needed solutions with agility and be able to tell the supply story in compelling terms to the warfighter. Our role in supporting Sailors, families, and quality of life through retail, transportation, afloat food service and lodging is also key to generating and sustaining total force readiness.
PEOPLE: As Adm. Gilday expressed, “People are our most important weapons system,” and I firmly believe that. Enhancing our workforce through initiatives such as the NAVSUP Civilian Leadership Career Progression Model will afford employees the opportunity to develop as a leader. It is not enough to ask our employees to identify innovative solutions; leaders should be willing to implement them. Our objective is to make sure our people thoroughly understand our business: what we do, why, for whom, how we do it and how well, and then give them the tools, permission and encouragement to do it better. Reducing obstacles and overcoming inertia with technology to improve recruitment, retention, and talent management are key endeavors as we enable a new era workforce. We will provide employees a safe, harassmentfree work environment that promotes respect and productivity. We will remain laser-focused on accomplishing our mission, while always aware that acting legally, ethically, and professionally can never be subordinate to expediency.
AUDIT: Audit delivers the opportunity to identify shortfalls, reinvest savings and improve readiness. Transparency is our biggest ally to maintaining our position as a trusted partner and provider to our leaders and warfighters. We must accelerate completing physical inventory requirements by 31 March 2020. Regional Inventory Accuracy Officers (RIAOs) at our Fleet Logistics Centers will assist with remediation efforts and work hand-in-hand with the Inventory Operations Center (IOC). We have undergone the first Enterprise wide audit and now it is our mandate to remediate errors, standardize processes and sustain our momentum. We will get this right with sound processes, policies, and aggressive follow-up. We must learn from the audit process and implement those lessons into our everyday routines ensuring health of critical operations such as Navy Working Capital Fund-Supply Management. We have stepped into the forefront and are witnessing the demand for our services and support. These successes…our successes, make our Navy a superior force, and give us the ability to dominate in any fight. With your tenacity and ingenuity, we can continue our innovative pursuits and important collaboration in areas of agile and resilient logistics support. We will always be ready to serve, ready to sustain the fight, and “ready for sea.”
Each one of you makes a difference. Thank you for your continued dedication to our Navy!
M.C. SKUBIC
RADM, SC, USN