Secretary of the Navy Approves Strategic Plan for Maritime Domain Awareness

By Brian Leshak, Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, the Department of Defense (DoD) executive agent for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), approved the DoD Strategic Plan for MDA Sept. 23.

The plan closely aligns with the 2013 National Maritime Domain Awareness Plan, which reaffirms our nation's long-standing maritime leadership role as a source of national power.

"We're elated to have the secretary of the Navy's approval of the strategic plan as the DoD executive agent," said Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, oceanographer of the Navy and director of the Office of the DoD Executive Agent for MDA. "The strategic plan will further advance the department's efforts to enable timely, accurate and informed decision making by accelerating our ability to collect, fuse, analyze and disseminate maritime data, information and intelligence relating to potential threats to the security, safety, economy or the environment of the United States and its people."

The strategic plan provides a departmental vision and common way ahead for advancing MDA. More specifically, the plan will help synchronize DoD's efforts with national policy and investments in MDA; expand and reinforce ongoing efforts with interagency and international partners; guide future MDA investments while minimizing redundancies; and provide a basis for enhanced decision making across the maritime community.

The plan was a joint effort with partnering agencies that include the Offices of Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy.

"In the coming weeks, my office will continue to engage with Navy, DoD, U.S. Government and international partners to implement the goals and objectives outlined in the strategic plan," said Gallaudet. "Working together with our close partners in the MDA community, we will collectively advance our shared capabilities which support our collective abilities to defend the homeland, engage our partners, ensure access, sustain presence, and if necessary, to project power within the maritime environment."