Issue 06 — Jan 2018

Department of the Navy

Strategy and Innovation Newsletter

Highlighting innovative ideas in the DON

DISTRIBUTION A: Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

Department of the Navy

Office of Strategy & Innovation

1000 Navy Pentagon

Washington, DC 20350

@navalinnovation

@navalinnovation

DON_Innovation@navy.mil

www.secnav.navy.mil/innovation/

Connect with Us!

History of Innovation 8

In this Issue Page

Introduction

Seed Funding: Law Enforcement

Analytics at NCIS

1

Seed Funding: Expeditionary

Manufacturing (EXMAN) 2

Tactical Advancements for the

Next Generation (TANG) 5

Post-MMOWGLI Workshop

Rolling Wave: A High-Velocity

Learning Product

6

PROJECT GRIFFIN: Low Cost

Drone

The Future of Unmanned Aerial

Systems in the US Navy

7

CENSECFOR Velocity Lab -

Creating the Future 4

Seed Funding: Navy School

Explosive Ordnance Disposal 3

Please provide your feedback comments at:

https://go.usa.gov/xRSf7

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEBt

In 2015, the Naval Criminal

Investigative Service (NCIS) contacted

the Office of Strategy and Innovation

(S&I) with a request for seed funding

for a program to help the entire DoD,

and other local, state, and federal law

enforcement agencies rapidly identify

criminal threats, trends, and suspicious

activities.

The problem was that law

enforcement analysts required a

discovery and analysis tool to build

and share work related, situational

awareness concepts across the

different types of data that was being

collected. Due to the volume of

information available, identifying

specific threats can be a challenge. In

other words, while the haystack of

data was being freely shared, what

NCIS was looking for was a metal

detector to find the needle.

In 2016, after overcoming

administrative obstacles that delayed

the initial funding, NCIS finally

received S&I’s seed funding for the

Domestic Law Enforcement Awareness

Program (DLEAP). The one year grant

paid for an analyst to serve as the

program manager, as well as the

software and server infrastructure to

enable the first phase of

implementation, development, testing,

and analysis of DLEAP concept.

With DLEAP, a single analyst is able

to turn over one million reports a month

into multiple vetted Suspicious Activity

Reports (SARs) each week. This

capability did not exist operationally in

the law enforcement or criminal

intelligence communities. DLEAP has

the ability to identify early warning

signals, which are sometimes hidden in

the haze of millions of records that

identify potential terrorist, insider and

criminal threats to DOD members,

dependents and installations. DLEAP

manages existing data and displays only

relevant incidents.

Seed Funding Success: Law Enforcement Analytics at

Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)

This edition of the S&I Newsletter focuses on three success stories of Innovation

Seed Funding as well as projects that are implementing High Velocity Learning

throughout the Department. We have also included some articles on unmanned

systems and, of course, a look at the history of innovation within the Department.

2 | Department of the Navy Strategy and Innovation Newsletter | Dec 2017 | Issue 06

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEBe

In early 2016, the Office of Strategy

and Innovation (S&I) was approached

by 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st

Maintenance Battalion’s Marine Corps

Expeditionary Manufacturing (EXMAN)

for seed funding for its Mobile Test Bed

Initiative. The objective was to design,

build, and test an Advanced

Manufacturing (i.e. additive

manufacturing / 3D printing and

subtractive manufacturing / CNC milling

or lathing) facility that would perform

under actual operational conditions, and

would be tested during the Marine

Corps’ annual Exercise Steel Knight (SK-

17). Original funding for the Concept

Initiation Phase had been sponsored by

Space and Naval Warfare Systems

Command (SPAWAR) Headquarters, and

now seed funding was needed to build

a prototype for 1st Maintenance

Battalion at Camp Pendleton in time to

support the exercise .

Put simply, EXMAN is a deployable

3D Printing studio in a mobile

containerized shelter which can be used

anywhere in the world, supporting the

immediate needs of the Marines on the

ground during operations or combat.

3D printing has been around for a

couple of decades. However, the

Marine Corps’ objective was to make it

mobile so that during an operation,

whenever key parts break down,

replacement parts could be fabricated

on the spot, thereby eliminating well-

known supply line hurdles.

For the Concept Initiation Phase ,

the Marines’ requested seed funding

to create a mobile facility with an

Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem,

and which would be equipped with

end use components, Computer-Aided

Design (CAD) files, and technical data

packages developed by the EXMAN

team. After hearing the Marines’ pitch,

S&I gave them $250,000. Within short

order, the EXMAN prototype mobile

facility was designed and built to

support the continuous

experimentation, technology adoption,

and risk reduction of advanced

manufacturing tactics, techniques, and

procedures under actual operational

conditions. The mobile facility was

outfitted with a comprehensive

advanced manufacturing ecosystem

that included a 3D printer, professional

CAD software, professional Computer-

Aided Manufacturing software, a 3D

scanner, ruggedized laptops, and a

Computer Numerical Control (CNC)

mill/lathe.

For the next phase, Continuous

Experimentation, SPAWAR HQ was

both a sponsor and a partner,

providing engineering expertise for

the Marines.

During the Continuous

Experimentation Phase, EXMAN was

successfully deployed for Steel Knight.

Steel Knight is an annual exercise led

by the 1st Marine Division that spans

the western United States and

California coast. Focusing on ground

fires, maneuver warfare tactics and

command and control capabilities, this

exercise tests Marines and Sailors across

a range of environments and against a

thinking, opposing force (the 1st Marine

Division is the Marine Corps' largest,

most capable and most lethal combat

force in readiness) .

During the exercise, the team was

able to use the advanced manufacturing

equipment of EXMAN to fix more than

30 high priority end items. EXMAN

demonstrated that it can effectively

provide :

Timely restorations of critical

materiel requirements

Availability of long-lead time parts

Materiel solutions for obsolete or

unprocurable parts

Decentralized manufacturing to aid

in product improvements

Increased readiness and decreased

reliance

During the Ship-to-Shore Maneuver

Exploration and Experimentation

Advanced Naval Technology Exercise

(S2ME2 ANTX) in April 2017, 1st Tank

Battalion successfully installed a

"printed" metal impeller fan in an M1A1

Main Battle tank. This success was a

joint effort between the Marines,

SPAWAR, and commercial industry.

Following initial testing, the tank

Seed Funding Success:

Expeditionary Manufacturing (EXMAN)

171017-M-YG378-104 CAMP PENDLETON, CA -

U.S. Marines with 1st Maintenance Battalion,

Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine Logistics

Group, display the different production steps of a

vaneaxial impeller fan at Camp Pendleton, Calif.,

Oct. 17, 2017. The original wait time and cost of the

fan from the manufacturer is 36 months and

roughly $1,500. With the 3D printing process, the

wait time is reduced to 14 days and the cost is

$315. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joseph

Sorci)

Gunnery Sgt. Travis Arndt, a machinist with 1st

Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment

15, 1st Marine Logistics Group, explains the 3-D

printing capabilities to Richard V. Spencer, the

Secretary of the Navy, on Camp Pendleton, Calif.,

August 30, 2017. Spencer previously served as a

Marine Aviator for five years flying a CH-46 Sea

Knight transport helicopter. (U.S. Marine Corps

photo by Lance Cpl. Adam Dublinske)

Issue 06 | Dec 2017 | Department of the Navy Strategy and Innovation Newsletter | 3

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEBM

Back in 2015, the leadership and

staff at Naval School Explosive

Ordnance Disposal (NAVSCOLEOD)

envisioned a schoolhouse that could

leverage smart devices, employ a

cloud environment to host online

classrooms, and transit across mesh

networks using modernized education

techniques. They further imagined

online classrooms which hosted

individual study apps, virtual

laboratories, gaming, and ocular

immersion technologies. They

envisioned mesh networks which cut

th time required of instructors "off the

podium" and enabled electronic grade

books, programmable data analysis,

advanced analytic capabilities, and

electronic feedback reporting. They

also foresaw tailoring education and

technical training methods for a tech-

savvy generation accustomed to

immediate information access.

Today, thanks in part to seed

funding from Task Force Innovation

(TFI) and the Office of Strategy and

Innovation (S&I), much of

NAVSCOLEOD’s vision is becoming a

reality through the Scalable Mobile

Applications and Ready Training

(SMART) project. Further, even before

the project’s completion, many of the

anticipated benefits have been

realized and, in some cases, have

exceeded the original expectations.

To meet the goal of optimizing

student academic performance and

staff training processes through

mobile capabilities and technology,

NAVSCOLEOD students were issued e-

Tablets throughout the seven

divisions. Due to the high demand, the

initial project scope was increased and

more than 1,500 students were issued

e-Tablets for about 100 classes. The

result was that NAVSCOLEOD

experienced fewer student failures in

four out of the seven divisions, higher

peak student performances, and

positive student and staff feedback.

Most dramatically, NAVSCOLEOD saw

a drop in academic attrition of over 11

percent.

To achieve these dramatic results,

more was involved than just handing

out e-Tablets; it took a couple of years

of careful planning and preparation,

which is where S&I’s seed funding was

essential. In 2015 S&I gave

NAVSCOLEOD $485,000 to secure e-

Tablet prototypes and, with Defense

Advanced Research Projects Agency

Transformative Apps program support,

configure up to 600 e-Tablets. The

seed funding also accelerated the e-

Tablet operating system design,

application development, and device

requirement development, as well as

incorporated automated advanced

analytics.

Building on this initial seed funding,

NAVSCOLEOD created 80 “YouTube-

like” videos and five apps, such as the

“Individual Study App,” for the e-

Tablet. These videos and apps

provided rich content, which improved

overall performance for students and

instructors alike, with students

frequently using the videos to review

previously taught skills. Students and

instructors also favored quiz apps and

other digital content, including slides,

curricula, and technical publications.

NAVSCOLEOD also was able to

migrate the school’s digital curricula

and evaluate a prototype for an

electronic gradebook .

Of course, along with the S&I seed

funding, a tremendous amount of

talented and motivated people

contribute to the SMART project’s

success as they worked diligently

toward furthering Ready, Relevant

Learning; a cloud-based collaborative

learning environment; and learning

management capabilities.

Incidentally, this was not S&I’s only

effort on behalf of the Explosive

Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community.

This past summer one of S&I’s

Innovation Advisors was the project

lead at the Defense Innovation Unit-

Experimental (DIUx) in Silicon Valley

for EOD’s Learning, Talent and

Knowledge Management, and

Collaboration project. This effort

promises a cloud-based enterprise

software system for DoD forces

operating globally across several

networks .

For FY18 and beyond, the SMART

team is now working with DIUx and

OPNAV N95 on project “Jet Stream –

Learning.”

Seed Funding Success:

Navy School Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)

Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal Seal

161216-N-YW487-001 EGLIN AFB, Florida (Dec

16, 2016) A NAVSCOLEOD Instructor

demonstrates a Study Application on a student’s

tablet. NAVSCOLEOD, located on Eglin Air Force

Base, Fla. provides high-risk, specialized, basic

and advanced EOD training to U.S. and 97

partner nation military and selected U.S.

government personnel each year. (U.S. Navy

photo by Billy P. Martin/Released)

4 | Department of the Navy Strategy and Innovation Newsletter | Dec 2017 | Issue 06

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEBF

The Navy’s vision for Sailor 2025 is

clear, and Center for Security Forces

(CENSECFOR) is running full speed

ahead to make that vision real by

creating High Velocity Learning. In 2016,

the Center established the Velocity Lab,

an innovation cell focused on answering

two key questions: How might we

increase the mastery that we deliver to

our Sailors and the Fleet within existing

resources? How might we prepare our

Sailors to fight, win and return with

honor both now and in the increasingly

volatile, uncertain, complex, and

ambiguous (VUCA) world of 2025 and

beyond?

Guided by this vision, and employing

principles of Agile Development and

Lean Startup, the Velocity Lab works as

an integrator of government, academia,

industry, and open source tools to

rapidly bring solutions to our

instructors. The Center hosted an

innovation Summit with leadership from

all 12 learning sites to have a robust

dialogue about the vision. The Summit

included team activities that led to the

rapid development of products for the

learning sites. The CENSECFOR team has

embraced a growth mindset and

created a culture where every team

member, from deckplate instructor to

headquarters, is empowered to put

forward ideas, design a viable product,

and test its effectiveness at producing

student mastery.

Initial efforts include an online

student and instructor feedback tool

that integrated commercial survey

tools with automated content analysis

(AI) in order to ensure that we capture

and act on the best ideas of the 26,000

students the Center teaches annually

and our 500 experienced instructors.

These tools dramatically shorten the

timeline between feedback and

curriculum improvement. This directly

supports the vision of Ready Relevant

Learning. Two learning sites are

experimenting with different ways to

incorporate video cameras into

training scenarios in order to enable

near-real-time debriefing similar to

John Madden’s instant replay

drawings, and to curate a collection of

video training aids to be used across

several sites that teach the same

courses. This curation process will

dramatically reduce video production

timelines and costs, and increase the

Relevance at the instructor-student

interface .

A third team is developing concepts

for augmenting the capacity of our

firearms instructors to improve the

quality and frequency of firing range

feedback with the goal of developing

greater combat shooting mastery across

our Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection

(AT/FP) and Coastal Riverine training

curricula. Another group is exploring

ideas to reduce facilities acquisition and

maintenance costs for a variety of

training structures by pursuing an AR/

VR kill house that can be used to train

Sailors in a variety of environments,

from active shooter, to Visit, Board,

Search and Seizure (VBSS), to armed

sentries and shipboard security. The

Center’s culture of innovation isn’t just

about new projects; it informs ongoing

curriculum improvements in all 43

courses the Center provides. Underlying

every project is a parallel effort to

capture data and objectively assess

effectiveness in a way that will integrate

seamlessly.

Center for Security Forces (CENSECFOR) Velocity

Lab - Creating the Future

160921-N-IA020-019 (VIRGINIA BEACH, VA) The graphic shows the Center for Security Forces

(CENSECFOR) vision and roadmap to achieve high velocity learning throughout the command by

employing principles of agile development and lean startup. (U.S. Navy graphic designed by CENSECFOR

Velocity Lab)

170515-N-IA020-002 (VIRGINIA BEACH, VA)

Center for Security Forces (CENSECFOR)

Detachment San Diego Officer-in-Charge, LCDR

Ian Garrison, participating in a virtual reality

scenario in the CENSECFOR Velocity Lab during a

command innovation summit held at command

headquarters. (U.S. Navy photo by Brendan

Mooney)

Issue 06 | Dec 2017 | Department of the Navy Strategy and Innovation Newsletter | 5

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEB6

In 2011, Program Executive Office

Integrated Warfare System 5.0 (PEO

IWS 5.0) established an approach to

innovation new to the Navy and has

ignited warfighter creativity to deliver

solutions. The initiative, dubbed

Tactical Advancements for the Next

Generation (TANG), employs a

customized suite of Applied Design

methodologies to tackle human-

centered challenges within DoD. The

collaborative process brings together

today’s warfighter with a diverse

group of stakeholders and experts to

solve complex challenges. Working

alongside the sponsor, multi-

disciplinary project teams conduct

immersive research to frame the

problem space and better understand

the pain points of a topic. To discover

unexpected insights, the team also

explores tangentially related fields that

provide different perspectives and

responses to similar challenges.

Following months of research and

discovery, TANG hosts an intense

Design Event that brings together

operators, stakeholders, technologists,

and strategic partners to co-create low

fidelity prototype solutions to the

challenge opportunities

In the Design Event, synthesized

research outcomes, relevant emerging

technology, and compelling case

studies set the foundation for

structured brainstorming and rapid

prototyping efforts. The power of real

time collaboration between end-users,

designers, testers, acquisition

professionals and senior decision

makers cannot be overstated as it

short-circuits more traditional,

lumbering paths of acquisition. By the

end of two cycles of concept

generation, a TANG Design Event

produces more than 20 human-

centered concept candidates for rapid

prototyping and refinement. In many

ways, however, the Design Event is the

start of the journey .

Following the Design Event, the

Sponsors, together with the TANG

Team and Stakeholders, selects the

highest-impact solutions and partners

with a network of performers to

deliver capability to the Fleet at speed.

These low fidelity prototypes

jumpstart the acquisition process,

leverage existing Programs of Record

(PORs), create opportunities for new

initiatives, and impact non-technical

areas such as policy and training. By

guiding the end-users, stakeholders,

and technologists through a

structured Applied Design process,

TANG is mitigating early risks and

accelerating solutions to the field,

resulting in a faster, more effective and

ultimately lower-cost development

cycle.

The TANG portfolio has expanded

to included Maintenance and Material

Management (3M) for the Surface

Navy, Integrated Air and Missile

Defense Mission Planning, Food

Service, Aviation Mission Support, and

Sailor Toughness; among others.

Tactical Advancements

for the Next Generation

(TANG)

160321-N-IA020-001 PEARL HARBOR (March 21,

2016) Tactical Advancements for the Next

Generation (TANG) participants of the Integrated

Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Mission Planning

Seminar post their likes, wishes, questions and

concerns about pre-event concepts to kick-off the

week. The TANG brings government civilians,

contractors, enlisted and officer personnel

together with commercial enterprises to tackle

challenges through innovation. (U.S. Navy photo

by TANG Team/Released)

161019-N-IA020-001 SUFFOLK VA (October 19, 2016) Submariners creating rough prototypes of their

solutions to improve information flow at a Tactical Advancement for the Next Generation (TANG) event

focusing on Submarine Information Exchange. (U.S. Navy photo by TANG Team/Released)

6 | Department of the Navy Strategy and Innovation Newsletter | Dec 2017 | Issue 06

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEBA

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEBs

Innovators at Naval Surface Warfare

Center, Carderock Division; Space and

Naval Warfare Systems Command,

Atlantic; and Naval Postgraduate School

(NPS) have spent the last several

months curating the output from a

massive multiplayer online wargame

leveraging the Internet (MMOWGLI).

These examine how the Navy might

address the emergence of greater-than-

human intelligence from technological

means, otherwise known as “the

Singularity.”

The “Design for Maritime Singularity

MMOWGLI” took place in the spring

and asked players to collaborate on

responses to two distinct, yet

complementary questions: “What

concepts for human-machine teaming

might we develop as we approach the

Singularity?” and, “As complexity rises

all around us, what new organizational

constructs should we consider?”

According to Carderock’s Director

for Innovation Garth Jensen, who

designed the game, the impetus for

the MMOWGLI rose from a growing

concern that the Singularity represents

“a tidal wave of change approaching

the Navy. This wave presents us with a

binary choice. If we recognize this

wave in time, we can ride it and

harness its energy. But if we ignore

this wave, or try to resist it, we will get

washed up on the shoals of history.

There’s really no middle ground. We

either ride the wave or get crushed by

the pace of change.”

The game was hosted on NPS’s

MMOWGLI platform, playable on any

web browser or mobile device. Jensen

said the audience response to this

game was among MMOWGLI’s most

vibrant ever, with more than 21,000

YouTube views, 4,000 signups, 1,250

active players, 9,000 idea cards played

and 45 action plans developed by

participants.

When the Aircraft Carrier Tactical

Support Center combat system was

fielded in Aircraft Carrier (CVN) -

Tactical Operations Centers (CVN-

TOC) across the fleet, the system

represented a significant advancement

in multi-warfare area sensor data

collection and fusion. Despite this

advancement, the new capability was

fielded without a standardized

approach toward collective Anti-

Submarine Warfare (ASW) operational

system utilization. During observation

of CVN-TOC officer planning and

execution of Commander Naval Air

Forces Pacific (CNAP) Basic Phase ASW

training exercises, it was evident that

this standardization gap existed. To

fulfill these training requirements,

there are currently two acceptable

options: the Expendable Mobile ASW

Training Target (EMATT) or the

Coordinated ASW Exercise (CASEX).

While both options are invaluable

training methods, the CASEX

represents the option with significant

more integrated training value

The CASEX is a complex, multi-

player evolution that involves the

coordinated operation and integration

of naval assets and provides the best

training value. On the other hand, the

lack of a standardized planning

process has resulted in extensive

planning time, unnecessary re-work,

high-variability in training requirement

success, and ineffective training

practices. Since the EMATT is easier to

plan and execute in comparison to the

CASEX, those CVN-TOC officers who

plan during the EMATT exercises

sacrifice much needed training

experience and value. Given the

growing ASW capabilities of

adversaries, value added training is

now more important than ever.

Rolling Wave provides the first,

standardized high-velocity learning

(HVL) approach to CVN Basic Phase

ASW training exercises across the fleet.

The product also standardizes and

streamlines the EMATT and CASEX

planning processes for CVN-TOC

officers. The product has reduced

process time and the complexities

associated with CVN-TOC ASW

exercise planning. Rolling Wave has

also reduced unnecessary re-work,

high-variability in training requirement

success, ineffective training practices,

poorly defined roles and

responsibilities, and inadequate

expectation management .

Naval Innovators Prepare for the Coming Singularity

with Post-MMOWGLI Workshop

Rolling Wave: A High-Velocity Learning Product for

CVN-Based ASW Exercise Planning

This wave was designed as artwork for the Massive

Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the

Internet (MMOWGLI) game taking place in March.

The 'Design for Maritime Singularity-MMOWGLI' is

meant to help design the Navy of the future. The

designer of the wave is Lt. Cmdr. Kristen Wheeler,

executive officer of Naval Operations Support

Center San Jose in California. (Released)

Issue 06 | Dec 2017 | Department of the Navy Strategy and Innovation Newsletter | 7

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEBG

Full Article

https://go.usa.gov/xnEB7

Unmanned aerial systems provide

the Navy and Marine Corps with

revolutionary capabilities. However,

the Department of the Navy (DON)

should continue to utilize manned

systems and begin integrating

manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.

A new thesis by Midshipman

Matthew Oman argues both manned

and unmanned aircraft should be

integrated to combine the capabilities

of both systems, which will pave the

way for a more agile, adaptive, and

effective naval fleet. Unmanned

systems provide the ability to execute

dangerous missions without

endangering a pilot’s life. These

systems have the potential to

outperform fighter aircraft by

surpassing the acceleration limits of

the human body. On the other hand,

unmanned aircraft provide the ability

for combatant commanders to oversee

the aerial systems from a safe, more

secure position out of harm's way.

However, manned aircraft can afford

better decision making and quicker

responses in close-in aerial combat and

are superior to unmanned aircraft in

thwarting aerial defenses .

The integration of manned and

unmanned systems could implement

the advantages of both platforms in

naval aviation. In intelligence,

surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)

applications, small, unmanned systems

deployed from a fighter could be carried

past aerial defenses, reducing the risk to

this asset. In aerial combat, a paired,

unmanned system could assist in a

dogfight. This would allow for the

officers in the manned system to make

rapid decisions, eliminating the delay

with remote authorization. In hunter-

killer applications, a smaller, unmanned

system deployed from a manned system

could fly closer to the enemy to use an

extremely precise munition and

minimize collateral damage .

PROJECT GRIFFIN began when

officers in USS ROSS (DDG 71) were

playing around with a commercially

procured toy drone while at sea.

Almost immediately, they noticed

unintended benefits by introducing

new methods and ideas to solve gaps

in maintenance inspections, training

scenarios, safety of equipment and

Sailors, public affairs initiatives, and to

provide a limited organic air asset.

ROSS's commercial-off-the-shelf

(COTS) drone has been nicknamed

"GRIFFIN ONE."

Since PROJECT GRIFFIN was

initiated, ROSS has been able to close

training and maintenance challenges

by incorporating GRIFFIN ONE into

routine evolutions at sea while

increasing the commander's

situational awareness (SA). The long-

term benefits of the program remain

undetermined, but initial results

indicate that it will have a positive

operational impact.

During Visit Board Search and

Seizure (VBSS) training events, GRIFFIN

ONE provided real-time video

feedback to the ship, which allowed

the Commanding Officer (CO) to

observe the VBSS Boarding Team in

action. It also provided video playback

after the training event, allowing the

CO and team members the ability to

review and critique the event to

improve future training or real world

operations.

During Crew Served Weapons

(CSW) live fire events, required sea

mammal watches face difficulties

locating and identifying mammals that

could potentially be harmed. GRIFFIN

ONE was able to rapidly scan the

required engagement areas, providing

additional support to the CO to

determine if any sea mammals were at

risk prior to allowing live fire events to

commence. It also allowed the CO's

safety representative to supervise gun

mounts that were normally out of view

from the bridge during execution .

Thesis Paper Review –

The Future of Unmanned

Aerial Systems in the

US Navy

PROJECT GRIFFIN: USS ROSS Discovers Low Cost

Drone is Useful for a Variety of Tasks

160823-N-FL768-02 MEDITERRANEAN SEA

(August 23, 2016) USS Ross (DDG 71) finds an

abandoned vessel, Griffin-1 is used to determine

if anyone remains on the vessel. (U.S. Navy photo

by LTJG Sean Mansfield/Released)

Midshipmen Matthew Oman on his first class

Aviation Cruise in front of an E/A-18 Growler.

Midshipmen Oman was assigned to VAQ-135 at

NAS Whidbey Island. Photo by MIDN 1/C Keaton

Fujii.

8 | Department of the Navy Strategy and Innovation Newsletter | Dec 2017 | Issue 06

historyhistoryhistory of innovation in the DON—Making a Difference

By Sarandis Papadopoulos, Ph.D.,

Secretariat Historian

CSS Virginia, the former steam

frigate Merrimack now an ironclad

ram, sailed into Hampton Roads to

attack the wooden-hulled Union

warships blockading Norfolk.

Commanded by Flag Officer Franklin

Buchanan, the Confederate vessel

quickly sank the USS Cumberland and

Congress, then damaged Minnesota.

Despite a barrage of fire by these

warships and shore batteries, Union

shots bounced harmlessly off the

ironclad's sloped armor. The next

morning Virginia sortied to finish off

the Minnesota. From nearby a new

vessel appeared, which one observer

described as “a gigantic cheese box,”

seemingly with “no sails, no wheels, no

smokestack, no guns.” The USS

Monitor was on the scene to intercept

the Confederate ironclad.

How had the Navy created its own

ironclad? Union sympathizers reported

the Confederates were rebuilding

Merrimack with iron protection, so the

U.S. Congress appropriated money to

counter it. Three types won approval,

the most unusual one designed by a

Swedish-born New Yorker, John

Ericsson. He proposed a low, armored

hull with a revolving gun turret

protected by iron 8” thick, and

mounting two 11” cannon. Ericsson

engineered his 900-ton ship to be a

small target, with its cylindrical turret

designed to deflect shot. As a final

innovation, his was the only design

without sails. The Chief of the Bureau

of Yards and Docks formally accepted

his proposal on 21 September 1861,

and Ericsson contracted for its

building.

Money mattered, however, and the

unusual design alarmed Secretary of

the Navy Gideon Welles. The Secretary

demanded a condition: if Ericsson’s

ship didn't perform well, he and its

builders would have to refund its cost

to the government. One partner

balked at assuming this risk, but

Ericsson pressed for its inclusion; he

knew his ship would remain afloat. The

contract was signed on 4 October for

$275,000, but preliminary work

allowed her keel to be laid just three

weeks later. The ship’s turret was built

separately, then shipped and

reassembled.

Materials’ delays challenged the

shipwrights, slowing progress by a few

weeks. Launched on 30 January 1862,

the ship was commissioned on 25

February, commanded by Lieutenant

John L. Worden, who led a crew of 48

officers and Sailors. Ericsson proposed

the name "Monitor" both to admonish

the Confederate government and to

warn Great Britain of the danger of

intervening in the sectional American

war. The first Assistant Secretary of the

Navy, Gustavus V. Fox, approved it.

The ship had its share of troubles: her

steering gear failed, needing repair

before she headed south on 6 March,

to arrive in Hampton Roads two days

later.

Monitor had arrived just in time to

fight CSS Virginia to a standstill in

history’s first all-ironclad naval battle.

Here was an innovative design arriving

at the crucial moment, equipped with

new protection and propulsion, and

flexible armament, all customized for

the type of war the Navy waged. The

Monitor been in service for 11 days,

and went from

contract to

commissioning in

just 17 weeks, a

problem quickly

solved. Today’s

Navy and Marine

Corps need just

such “unusual”

thinking to

overcome their

challenges in our

quickly evolving

world.

Before Speed to Fleet: Innovating just in time

NH 50954: General plan published in 1862, showing the ship's inboard profile, plan view below the upper deck and hull cross sections

through the engine and boiler spaces. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph)

NH 45964/45965/45966: Three page contract to

construct the USS Monitor's hull, made between

Thomas Fitch Rowland, on behalf of the

Continental Iron Works, and John Ericsson and

his associates, 25 October 1861. The original was

in the Office of Naval Records & Library

Collection at the National Archives, circa the

early 1960s. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage

Command Photographs)