I am very pleased and honored to address you as the Department of the Navy (DON) Chief Information Officer (CIO). Much of my first month has been spent meeting key stakeholders in order to understand their roles and gain an appreciation of their interests and concerns for the DON Information Technology (IT) Enterprise. Over the next few months, I plan to further explore stakeholder goals and objectives as I establish priorities and align the DON CIO’s resources where most beneficial. I intend to use this information to formulate a DON IT Strategic Plan that helps enable and deliver the outcomes outlined in the FY14-16 DON Transformation Plan.
The DON CIO will be actively engaged in Secretary of the Navy Mabus’ effort to spur innovation. As the pace of technological development continues to accelerate, it is important for the Department to maintain an edge. We will have to think harder and smarter than ever about how to turn technological advances into strategic advantage. When we have an innovative idea, we need to be able to turn it into a capability quickly.
The DON CIO will be doing everything possible to facilitate and fuel innovation, eliminate policies or processes that unnecessarily inhibit or delay development, and identify promising trends and developments. We will collaborate not only with the other military departments, but we will also look beyond the boundaries of the Department of Defense. While we value the advances made by industry, we will also explore solutions of other government agencies because we share similar challenges and are working toward similar goals.
I am very excited to serve as the DON CIO during this time of challenge and opportunity. I look forward with great anticipation to the success the Navy-Marine Corps team will accomplish together.