Citing Navy training's ability to flex and change to meet the needs of the fleet, Rear Adm. Joseph Kilkenny, commander of Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) spoke to the audience at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference in Orlando, Fla., Dec. 1. The address was part of the General/Flag Officer Panel, which gave participants an opportunity to talk about how their organizations are supporting military missions, as reflected in the conference theme, "Train to Fight … Fight to Win."
"We must gain more proficiency and our students more expertise in less time to keep up with the rapidly evolving challenges throughout the world," Kilkenny said. "The technology on display throughout this conference is indeed impressive, but we all acknowledge that it is our people who enable our services to be combat ready. We all go to great lengths to select training instructors who can teach, and we select those best suited to learn and develop into the most combat-ready Sailors, Soldiers, Marines [and] Coast Guardsmen [in] highly technical and challenging positions. This is also true whether you are a Fortune 500 company or a small independent contractor. And it is especially true of the United States armed forces."
Kilkenny gave a brief overview of the Navy training domain, which includes more than 19,000 military and civilian personnel, who provide training at more than 230 subordinate activities around the world. More than 35,000 students are taking part in Navy training on any given day. NETC logged more than 615,000 graduations in fiscal year 2008, including students from the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard. The U.S. Navy also trains more than 12,000 international students from more than 150 countries annually.
The admiral talked about a few of the changes which occurred within NETC over the last decade, including the Executive Review of Navy Training, directed by then Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark, which led to the Navy's "Revolution in Training."
"What followed was a massive restructuring that enabled us to work closer with the fleet to understand their requirements for trained Sailors, and to concurrently embrace a new approach in the methods used to train them," Kilkenny said. "Training works collaboratively with the fleet to take a human performance approach to analyzing and solving performance gaps. We identify Sailors' knowledge, skills and abilities required to be successful at a job, task or function, and design training to respond to those requirements — as they are determined by the fleet."
The admiral said changes to Navy training will continue because the missions of the Navy continue to change.
"In support of the expanded role for Sailors on the ground [in] Overseas Contingency Operations, our Center for Security Forces has adapted training to meet the demands for individual augmentees in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other parts of the world," Kilkenny said. "The understanding of foreign cultures, customs and languages is a direct joint force multiplier that enables service members to sustain our long-standing alliances and forge new relationships with emerging partners. For Sailors, the Navy achieves this understanding through training in Language, Regional Expertise and Culture at our Center for Information Dominance."
Kilkenny said the development of training begins with the weapons and platforms the Navy purchases. "We must work closely with you in the defense development and construction arena to ensure when we buy a system, the training is developed in parallel and fully supports the Sailors and joint service partners in the mission required of the system delivered."
Kilkenny also addressed the issue of technology in training, saying NETC has embraced technology to support training, in schools, as well as in exporting training to the fleet.
"These endeavors resulted in the use of blended learning solutions that include instructor-led training, computer-based training, simulation and technical training equipment," Kilkenny said. He gave a few examples of training initiatives, including the Submarine Learning Center's Submarine On Board Training. It provides Sailors with training developed by subject matter experts which is approved by the fleet as meeting its requirements. Sailors can also download and take the training with them on deployment.
Looking at the future, NETC is partnering with the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on a project called Digital Tutor. This adaptive project leverages the expertise of Silicon Valley information technology specialists to model how best to train the next generation of cyberwarfare experts.
While citing the requirement for the best training possible, Kilkenny tempered his comments with the reality of fiscal constraints. "How can industry deliver highly technical, complex and secure solutions at a price that the services can afford? This is a challenge for both of us. As we have always done, NETC will continue to work closely with the fleet to determine the best training to support their needs. We have never, and will never, create our training in a vacuum," the admiral continued.
"The training we provide America's Sailors and our joint service partners is outstanding — if it was not — we would not have more than 150 nations knocking at our door to send their military members through our courses."
For more information about the Naval Education and Training Command, visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/.