CNO Realigns OPNAV Staff

From Navy Office of Information

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Chief of Naval Operations released NAVADMIN 083/10 March 12 outlining the realignment of his staff at the Pentagon to enhance the Navy's ability to navigate fiscal challenges and deliver fleet and platform readiness.

Vice Adm. Bill Burke will assume the new position of Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (DCNO) for Warfare Systems (N9) March 12. He will be responsible for the integration of manpower, training, sustainment, modernization, and procurement of the Navy's warfare systems currently resourced by the directors of Expeditionary Warfare (N95), Surface Warfare (N96), Undersea Warfare (N97), and Air Warfare (N98).

"The realignment combines resources, and responsibilities necessary for procurement, manpower, training and readiness under the resource sponsors for information dominance, surface warfare, undersea warfare, air warfare, and expeditionary warfare" said Burke. "These changes are intended to improve decision making processes associated with planning, programming, budgeting, and execution, and enhance our focus on warfighting capability and total ownership cost,"

With this realignment, N8 will be responsible for integration of capabilities and resources and will be comprised of the directors for Programming (N80), Assessments (N81), Fiscal Management (N82), Navy-Joint Capabilities and Integration (N83), Innovation, Test and Evaluation, and Technology Requirements (N84), and Special Programs (N89). The director of test and evaluation and technology requirements (currently N091) will realign to N8 (N84) to improve understanding of future systems science and technology needs and effectiveness of our science and technology investment. The Naval Warfare Integration Group (N00X) will also be realigned to N81 to better integrate the OPNAV assessment process.

In this new plan, manpower and readiness resources for the Information Dominance Corps will be consolidated under the DCNO for Information Dominance (N2/N6) to enable informed program wholeness and warfighting capability trades for information, cyber, and electronic warfare systems. Additionally, personnel, training and readiness personnel from N1 and N4 will be transferred to N2/N6 to enable more informed system centric trades and warfighting integration. N2/N6 will be responsible for Integration and Interoperability assessments for all warfare systems.

N4 will transfer afloat readiness resources to N2/N6 and N9, but will maintain resource sponsorship for Logistics Programs, Energy & Environmental Readiness, Ashore Readiness and the Combat Logistics Force. N4 will also retain responsibility for Fleet readiness reporting and assessment.

While N1 will transfer manpower and training resources associated with Information Dominance, Fleet Readiness/ Logistics and Warfare Systems to N2/N6, N4 and N9, respectively, the N1 organization will retain resource sponsorship of all accessions and advanced education, exercise administrative control over Navy manpower policy, maintain responsibility for manpower assessment.

The realignment begins this month and expected to be completed by August 2012 to inform the fiscal year 2015 Program Objective Memorandum decisions. There will be no personnel or billet reductions with this realignment, but there may be a small growth to allow the staff to conduct the missions, functions and tasks required.

"We must become more effective and efficient in our management of resources," said Burke. "By harnessing the effort of the staff to plan and deliver, our Navy will continue to evolve and remain the world's preeminent maritime force in the face of emerging threats. We will remain focused on warfighting first, operating forward, and being ready."