spring 2010 the chronicle 1 - united states navy · war college draw high praise from navy leaders....

The ChronicleSpring 2010 1

The Chronicle2 Spring 2010

Coleman Lowry chats with fellow

New Professionals. The New Professional Council

Atlantic ensures that tomorrow’s leaders are prepared for tomorrow’s challenges. See story on page 8.

Coleman Lowry chats with fellow

New Professionals. The New Professional Council

Atlantic ensures that tomorrow’s leaders are prepared for tomorrow’s challenges. See story on page 10.


6 HELAMS in HaitiThe Air Force has deployed to Haiti with a communications shelter equipped at SSC Atlantic.

10 New Professionals Council AtlanticA collaborative council of New Professionals looks ahead to tomorrow’s challenges.

22 War College projects completedTwo high visibility upgrades at the Naval War College draw high praise from Navy leaders.

On the coverC h r i s t o p h e r M i l l e r, SSC Atlantic Technical Director, reported on board in Charleston in January. Photo by Joe Bullinger. See page 5.

Attendees browse exhibits during the C5ISR Government and Industry conference. See story on page 26.

Captain’s Call .................................4From the Technical Director ................5SPAWAR leadership meets ..................8Reserve Forces Commander visits ......14 St. Juliens Creek IP Modem team ......16Leadership course a team effort ........18SPAWARriors living abroad ...............24C5ISR conference sharing of ideas .....26 SSC Atlantic partners with Citadel ......36Support to Haiti-bound ships ............40SSC Atlantic visitors .......................49 The final word ..............................50

InsideInsideSpring 2010 Vol. 16, No. 1

Commanding Officer .......... Capt. Bruce UrbonTechnical Director ................Christopher Miller

SSC Atlantic’s Mission

To provide quality full-service systems engineer-ing and acquisition to rapidly deploy capabilities to the Naval, Joint and National Warfighter through the development, test, evaluation, production, and fielding of sustainable, survivable and interoperable Command, Control, Communications, Comput-ers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Information Operations, Enterprise Information Services and Space capabilities that enable knowl-edge superiority.

The Chronicle is a quarterly publica-tion designed for SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic employees. Its purpose is to inform, educate, entertain and generate new ideas. An official publication, The Chronicle is printed using appropriated funds in compliance with Document Automation and Production Service regulations. Contents of The Chronicle are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Navy or SSC Atlantic.

To view The Chronicle online, visit http://enterprise.spawar.navy.mil, click on “SSC Atlantic” under “Field Activities” on the left, click on “Charleston” on the right, then “Chronicle.”

P.O. Box 190022North Charleston, SC 29419-9022

Editor .........................................Susan PiedfortCommand Photographer ..............Joe Bullinger

TheTheChronicleChronicle


We are postured for success in 2010I would like to begin by extending a hearty “Welcome

aboard!” to our new Technical Director, Mr. Chris Miller, who reported to SSC Atlantic in January from his previous position as Program Executive Officer C4I. Chris’ back-ground and experience bring a unique perspective to SSC Atlantic, and we are very fortunate to have him on our team.

In January I got the chance to travel to Antarctica to meet with the SSC Atlantic team that supports the National Science Foundation’s research as part of the United States Antarctic Program (USAP).

The SPAWAR Office of Polar Programs (SOPP), managed by Mike Peebles, provides critical air traffic control and weather forecasting support to USAP. I was able to see firsthand our team in action in a challenging environment and functioning as an essential cog in a complex system that supports research in Antarctica. I also got a glimpse into the world of global research that is being carried out by an international team of scientists in Antarctica. Many thanks to Mike and his team for a great visit!

Our transition to Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (Navy ERP) was remarkable. And now we are going about the business of really learning the ins and outs of the system and ironing out the kinks that we’ve encountered along the way so that we can conduct business across the SPAWAR Enterprise seamlessly and efficiently.

BZ! to Nelson Ard and his team who have worked tire-lessly on this extremely complex and challenging cutover to a new business system. I am very proud of the team and of the entire workforce for embracing the new system.

Looking at the Big Navy picture, the establishment of the Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet is dominating our strategic planning as we ensure we are poised to support the new command in the cyber domain. The Navy has reorganized the office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) staff, with Director, Naval Intelligence (N2), Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Communications and Networks (N6) and other information capabilities consolidating into a new organization, the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance (N2/N6).

Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet will serve as a central operational authority for Navy cyberspace operations which will support missions afloat and ashore. The new command will be the Navy component to U.S. Cyber Command, a new com-mand formed by the Secretary of Defense last June, and will be responsible for the operation of Navy networks.

Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead has indi-

cated that, with the Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet, the Navy is “bringing together the resource sponsorship for all of our information-related capabilities into one entity that will include intelligence, networks, electronic warfare, cy-ber, meteorology and oceanography, space and unmanned systems.”

As part of Team SPAWAR, SSC Atlantic will be heavily engaged with this new organization, partnering to identify and deliver capabilities that will put our Naval and Joint Forces in a position of information dominance. These are exciting times for SSC Atlantic, and I am confident that we are postured to answer the call.

“These are exciting times

for SSC Atlantic, and I am

confident that we are postured

to answer the call.”


From the desk of

Christopher MillerTechnical Director

What an incredible honor it is for me to be here at SSC Atlantic! I’d like to start by thanking all the folks who have welcomed me to this top-notch command and have helped make the transition run smoothly for me and my family. After the last few weeks of being on the road and packing up our house, I’m looking forward to settling in here in Charleston and excited about the new challenges and op-portunities ahead.

So why did I choose to leave sunny San Diego for the Palmetto State? Having spent the better part of my career in various positions within SPAWAR Headquarters and PEO C4I, I was looking for an opportunity to learn about other parts of the Navy and DoD. I wanted to broaden my experi-ence, and SSC Atlantic has so many exciting things going on that it really attracted me. C4I is by nature joint, and I can’t think of a better place than here to make an impact at the joint level. SSC Atlantic is recognized as a world class organization supporting diverse customers in many non-traditional program management areas. In addition, from a personal point of view, I grew up in the Southeast and my wife is from Northern Virginia, so we were looking for an opportunity to get closer to home so our daughter could spend more time with our extended family.

To start, I have much to learn, and I plan to do a lot of listening. I’m looking forward to meeting new faces and stakeholders and learning about all we do to support the warfighter. I’m just amazed at how many systems center programs and projects directly contribute to our nation’s defense, and it’s exciting to think I’ll be able to play a role in our support to the warfighter. I also hope I can bring a unique perspective from my former job as the PEO to a large working capital fund activity.

I’d like to share just a few of my initial organizational goals:

The first is for SSC Atlantic to come through this organi-zational mode of change that we are currently going through, and for us to really start to understand who we want to be and the way forward as a competency aligned organization. There has been a great deal of planning, preparation and hard work, but now it is time to really start executing that operating model, and figure out what we have to do to build on that and start making it better.

The second goal is for us to figure out how we want to integrate and operate as a single command. We’ve been going through a lot with BRAC, ERP and CAO, and at the end of the day, we are one organization and we all support the warfighter. We have to determine how we will pull our organization together and operate as one team. I plan to spend a lot of time focusing on what we can do to accomplish that, what processes we will pull together and how we can better establish an identity as SSC Atlantic.

Third, I think we need to move from training and talk-ing about continuous process improvement to executing continuous process improvement. We deal in a very process-intensive business. Obviously we are operating within very tight fiscal constraints -- there are more demands for our resources, and we have to figure out how to make every dol-lar count. We do a great job conducting a lot of continuous process improvement training, but we need to translate that to real savings and improvements that people understand and use. We will always have to look for ways to be more innovative and deliver products in a rapid, timely manner.

Another big priority for me is to continue the effort to rebuild the SSC Atlantic workforce. It is important to recruit and retain the people with the right technical and functional expertise. I expect to spend a lot of time building strategies for recruiting people, for keeping the right people around, and continuing to develop our people. It is important that we have the best team we can possibly have so we can deliver the best products to the warfighter.

The bottom line is we are a people business. Today’s conflicts aren’t going to be won by outspending others or launching more Tomahawk missiles. The battle will be won by building relationships, making connections that last and giving the warfighters what they need. We can’t let our Sailors and Marines go into harm’s way without the best possible technologies or capabilities for doing their mission.

One of the first things that really stood out to me when I got here was what a great team we have. I have just been amazed by the quality and caliber of the people working for SSC Atlantic. The flexibility of the organization and the tremendous strength you leverage by bringing together the right mix of skills and experience has a significant impact on such a diverse array of projects. This team has shown it can do just about anything, with an incredible ability to adapt, to take on any challenge and work through to solutions.

I’m thrilled to be a part of this organization. Serving as the SSC Atlantic Technical Director promises to be a fantastic experience. I look forward to embarking on this journey with you.


In this photo from 2007, clockwise from bottom, U.S. Air Force Cols. John Brunhaver and Samuel Douglas, with SSC Atlantic’s George Anderson, Rick Mabe and Mike Liston, check out equipment installed in the HELAMS. The Air Force officials were delighted with the progress of the project during this visit.

Photo by Harold Senn

A C-17 departed Charleston Air Force Base Jan. 14 on the base’s first mission to bring humanitarian relief to Port-au-Prince, Haiti after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.

The cargo jet first went north, to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL), where air transportation specialists loaded a Hardside Expandable Light Air-Mobile Shelter (HELAMS) that had been outfitted with advanced commu-nications equipment by a team in SSC Atlantic’s Code 553.

The mobile command and control unit is used for ad-vanced communications with aircraft, ground vehicles and ground radios, as well as satellite communication equipment. It is normally used when the Air Force’s Air Mobility Com-mand establishes a base in an isolated war zone or austere environment.

The unit transported to Haiti was HELAMS #6, which was issued to the 621st Contingency Response Wing (CRW) at JB MDL. Twenty-seven HELAMS are being outfitted by Code 553 in a project that has been ongoing since 2007.

The HELAMS offers 297 square feet of capability in an otherwise desolate location. When mounted on its high speed mobility wheel set, the HELAMS can even travel at speeds up to 50 miles per hour. When fully expanded, the shelter

HELAMS #6 is loaded onto a Charleston AFB C-17 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Jan. 15, 2010. Air Mobility Command is assisting the humanitarian relief effort in Haiti by bringing the assets necessary to run airfield operations, air traffic control, command and control, aerial port, maintenance and security.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Katie Gieratz

HELAMS in HaitiAir Force deploys comms shelters equipped at SSC Atlantic


The HELAM team, from left, Michael Liston, Wanda Da-vis, Marty Blanchard, Randy Butler, Jeff Stone, Monica Santiago, Rick Mabe, Donald Trueblood and Troy McNear pose in front of Hardside Expandable Light Air-Mobile Shelters.

Photo by Joe Bullinger

is a climate-controlled oasis that features electrical power, windows and lighting with blackout capability, and all the communications equipment a warfighter needs.

The HELAMS serves as the unit’s headquarters while deployed to Haiti, giving them satellite communications and other capabilities crucial to the wing’s mission at the airfield.

SSC Atlantic’s HELAMS team, under the guidance of David Hickman, head of Maritime Base Communications Engineering, Code 5538, and led by Project Manager Rick Mabe, gives the HELAMS all the mobile/tactical comms Air Force teams need: AN/TSC 159 communications suite in shock-mounted 19-inch racks which include Nonclassified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet), Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), UHF SATCOM/VHF, local area line of sight, HF data and voice communications, satellite data and voice capabilities.

Troy McNear, Michael Liston, Jeff Stone, Monica San-tiago, Donald Trueblood, Wanda Davis, Marty Blanchard and Randy Butler make up the SSC Atlantic HELAMS team.

The HELAMS control unit bound for Haiti is painted desert tan, designed for use in a Middle Eastern wartime environment. This time the unit, and the communications equipment installed at SSC Atlantic, are being used for humanitarian purposes.

“It is good to see that our hard work here at SPAWAR is paying off and allowing the Navy to continue to be a ‘force for good,’” said Mabe.

“We’re the only air force in the world that has the ability to deliver that kind of cargo in that amount of time,” said Maj. John Cousins, the mission aircraft commander from the 317th Airlift Squadron. “It’s a huge impact to be able to take our C-17s and deliver this much needed [contingency response group] and the supplies that are going to follow the CRG.”

- Susan Piedfort, Chronicle Editor

Members of the 621st Contingency Response Wing set up a HELAMS at the Port au Prince airport. The HELAMS serves as the unit’s headquarters while deployed to Haiti and has satellite communications and other capabilities crucial to the wing’s mission at the airfield.

USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Danielle Johnson

A HELAMS is ready for loading on a Charleston AFB C-17 in the predawn hours at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Katie Gieratz


SPAWAR leadership meets in CharlestonSPAWAR leadership gathered in Charleston, S.C., dur-

ing the week of Dec. 14 for briefs on critical SSC Atlantic projects, IG focus group follow ups, tours and an All Hands session with SSC Atlantic teams at all sites.

SPAWARSYSCOM Commander Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann, Deputy Commander Rod Smith, Vice Com-mander Rear Adm. (Sel.) Joseph Rixey and Command Master Chief CMDCM(SS) Mark Flemon came to the Low-country for the events. Also visiting was Christopher Miller, then the Navy’s Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (PEO C4I) and new SSC Atlantic Technical Director.

They were hosted by SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon, then-Acting Technical Director Ken Slaughter, Executive Officer Cmdr. Charles Schug and Com-mand Master Chief EMCM Billy C. Swearingen.

Bachmann led an SSC Atlantic All Hands meeting Dec. 16, with sites in Little Creek, St. Juliens Creek and Norfolk, Va.; New Orleans, La.; Tampa and Pensacola, Fla.; Wash-ington, D.C.; and Stuttgart, Germany participating via VTC.

After Urbon noted that the date of the All Hands gather-ing -- Dec. 16 -- represented the Go Live for Navy ERP, the

admiral praised the SSC Atlantic team for making the tran-sition process a model for other organizations. There were few problems with Navy ERP implementation at SPAWAR, he said, and it’s clear that the SPAWAR team knows how to transition and execute.

“I plan to produce an after action report to show the de-tailed steps that were executed,” the admiral said, “and to show the amount of work that was done to make it appear to be a seamless transition.” This should benefit organiza-tions such as the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), which has yet to make the transition, he added.

Bachmann presented then-SSC Atlantic Acting Techni-cal Director Ken Slaughter the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service award for serving since May 2009 as acting technical director. (See story on opposite page.)

Bachmann also took the opportunity to introduce Chris-topher Miller, who at the time had yet to report to SSC Atlantic as its new technical director. “Chris brings another dimension – as a seasoned program manager, an acquisition professional and our principal customer as PEO C4I. He’ll bring another dynamic to move us forward,” the admiral said.

Rixey then addressed the crowd, noting that he is im-

Attendees at the SSC Atlantic All Hands are introduced to Christopher Miller by Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann, as Capt. Bruce Urbon looks on, at right.

Photos by Joe Bullinger


pressed by the accumulation of incredible talent he finds throughout SPAWAR.

“I feel fortunate to be a part of this command during this growth industry,” he said. Smith gave up-dates on several ongoing issues, such as NSPS, CAO, Navy ERP and SPAWAR’s role in the Navy’s newly created Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet.

SPAWAR command master chiefs saw firsthand the C4I integration of MRAP All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs) on a tour given by Joe Rodgers, program manager for the integration effort. SPAWARSYSCOM’s CMDCM Mark Flemon and SSC Atlantic’s EMCM Billy Swearingen, HTCM Barry Norris and AVCM Raymond Smith spent more than an hour touring the integration facility.

From left, EMCM Billy Swearingen, CMDCM Mark Flemon, HTCM Barry Nor-ris and AVCM Raymond Smith are briefed by Joe Rodgers, right, at the MRAP integration facility.

Then-Acting Technical Director of SSC Atlantic Ken Slaughter was called to front and center during the Dec. 16 All Hands meeting with SPAWARSYSCOM Commander Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann for a surprise presentation of the Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service award.

Bachmann and SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce U r b o n p r e s e n t e d Slaughter the award as Slaughter’s wife Beth and his son James looked on.

Slaughter served as acting technical di-rector of SSC Atlan-tic from May 2009 to January 2010. During that time, Gary Scott acted in Slaughter’s capacity as director of corporate operations.

“Ken provided con-tinuity to the center when we needed it,” the admiral said when presenting the award.

“He has worked in parallel with SSC Pacific and the

headquarters, and has been a real team player,” Bach-mann added.

Slaughter was also praised for his success coordinating the standup of SSC Atlantic, heading SPAWAR’s BRAC process and implementing Navy ERP. The admiral praised

Slaughter’s ability to meet milestones and keep projects on track.

R o d S m i t h , SPAWARSYSCOM deputy commander, lauded Slaughter for his success in tran-sitioning the work-force through these major organizational changes.

“It has been a plea-sure for me to be able to reach out to Ken to work on critical, time-sensit ive issues,” Smith said. “We have had so much going on,

including the transition to NSPS, CAO and Navy ERP. Ken has been essential during this time of change and challenges,” he added.

Slaughter receives Meritorious Civilian Service award

SPAWARSYSCOM Commander Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann and Ken Slaughter display the Meritorious Civilian Service award, while Slaughter’s wife Beth and son look on.



New Professionals Council By Waleed Barnawi and Jeffrey Welch

Created with the aid of Total Force Management (TFM) in November 2008, the New Professionals Council Atlantic (NPCA) has focused on finding new opportunities for im-provement for both New Professionals (NP) and the New Professionals program as a whole.

This mission revolves around continuously improving and excelling in the following areas: as a liaison between senior leadership, TFM and NPs; increasing communication and cooperation within the NP program; and developing innovative approaches to further refine the capabilities and knowledge base of future SPAWAR leadership.

In its first year alone, the NPCA has been formalized through the creation of a charter, and its members have in-creased NP participation through brown bag meetings and social events, generated a tracking database to monitor NP progression and invite them to events, founded a common collaborative environment through its own Web site, and developed a guidebook to aid current and incoming NPs. The NPCA has representatives across the Charleston, Tidewater and Washington D.C., areas working together to unite the SSC Atlantic NP community. Collaborative community of New Professionals

Social events are conducted by the New Professionals Council on a regular basis. Past events include happy hour, flag football, soccer, bowling and even skydiving. Sugges-tions from both New Professionals and veterans are greatly encouraged.

Brown bag luncheons are held monthly to provide NPs an opportunity to share their knowledge and experience by reporting on their recent activities. Brown bags are also a great way to meet other members of SSC Atlantic and learn more about the work they are doing. Brown bags support this command initiative by allowing New Professionals to interact with other SPAWAR professionals to help gain a better understanding of how they fit into the big picture. In addition, the NPCA has supported command initiatives by hosting speakers on Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), community outreach opportunities and Lean Six Sigma (LSS).

The brown bag meetings are also an opportunity to col-laborate on the Master Development Plan (MDP); the formal New Professionals roadmap for development of functional, technical and process management, as well as business com-petencies. Contributing to discussions at these meetings not only helps New Professionals to understand how they can meet career goals, but can also help the NPCA assist New Professionals by providing new opportunities.

New Professionals are encouraged to participate not only by attending brown bags, but also by recommending guest speakers or, ideally, by presenting the work being carried out on their own project. Recent topics have included projects involving robotics, simulation and emergency response systems. Presenting not only supports the goals in the MDP, but also NSPS performance objectives in terms of teamwork and communication. It might even get the attention of col-leagues across the command and provide an opportunity to develop new business.

Preparing for tomorrow’s challenges

The New Professionals Council hosted a cookout at Hooker Lake.

LSS Deployment Lead, Krista Shiver, gives a presentation at the November brown bag.


By participating in the NPCA-sponsored events and socializing with other professionals, New Professionals can learn more about what work is available, what interests them, and even meet members of other competencies that they can collaborate with on future projects. Participation can be vital to a New Professional’s development and is highly encouraged.New Professionals guidebook

The NPCA has developed a guidebook for New Profes-sionals that will assist with the processes, standards and expectations that apply to SSC Atlantic employees. Even the most experienced members of the SPAWAR workforce can find it mystifying to understand the constantly chang-ing environments in which they work. The guidebook is a manual for understanding what they need to do, what’s im-portant to their successful career, and what resources are available to help them along the way.

The New Profession-als guidebook was built from the experiences and lessons learned by NPCA members. The challenges that face New Professionals can apply to everybody at SPAWAR, whether it’s understanding how get a travel card or locating the necessary resources to carry out business opera-tions in ERP. Anybody -- from interns to senior members of SPAWAR -- can benefit by seeing what information is now available in the New Professionals guidebook. The NPCA is continuously looking for ways to improve the guidebook, and everybody can participate in helping to identify what information is important for a successful career at SPAWAR.The New Professionals Web Site

The NPCA has developed a new Web site featuring a

forum, a calendar of upcoming events, important files for New Professionals, and video recordings of past brown bag meetings. New Professionals are encouraged to use the forums to discuss training opportunities, their recent experi-ences, and even help plan future events. The Web site can be found at https://blog.spawar.navy.mil/NPCA.Join the mission

The NPCA is dedicated to vigorously improving itself and the NPs it serves. In a concerted effort to do so, the NPCA has outlined and initiated its goals for FY10. These goals consist

of creating a New Profession-als Entrance Program in con-junction with TFM, continuing to update and disseminate the NP guidebook, and expanding the services available on the NPCA Web site.

By adhering to these goals and future ones, it is the NPCA’s vision to maintain a heightened sense of command-

wide awareness, provide a strong collaborative environment, and exhibit diligence and responsibility to improve so that tomorrow’s leaders will be prepared for tomorrow’s chal-lenges.

The New Professionals Council has representatives across the command and we encourage you to reach out to them and play a role in SPAWAR’s future.

Remember, your participation is valued no matter where you are located. Get involved!

NPCA member, Bruce Billian, records the ideas shared by New Professionals during a small group break out.

Snapshot of the New Professionals Web site, where New Professionals can learn what is going on in their com-munity.

“We hope to foster knowledge-able, well-rounded NPs who will continue to grow their careers at SPAWAR.”

-Waleed Barnawi

Continued on next page


Waleed Barnawi843-218-3656

Waleed Barnawi is the Brown Bag Coordinator and a 50B representative. A graduate of Florida State (B.S.C.E) and Washington University in St. Louis (M.S.C.E), he has been with the com-mand since Nov. 24, 2008. Barnawi is in Code 5151 and is involved in supporting the SPAWAR Atlantic 5.1 Competency Development, the Competency Development Model IPT and the PMW 120 AN/ULQ-31(V) project.

Bruce Billian843-218-5627

Bruce Billian is an NPCA Representa-tive for the 50B Directorate. A graduate of Virginia Tech (BS CpE 2003; MS EE 2006) he had the opportunity to work full time for the university contributing to an unmanned systems research project prior to joining SSC At-lantic in June 2007. As a member of Code 5152, he has been involved with physical security and emergency management installation projects in addition to leading and contributing to SSC Atlantic innovation projects for the past three years.

David Huffman843-218-4872

David Huffman is the NPCA Secretary and a 50C representative. A graduate of The Citadel Military College of South Carolina with an Electrical and Computer Engineering Degree, He joined the com-mand in the summer of 2006 as an intern, converted to a Co-op, and most recently joined as a New Professional in May 2009. Huffman currently supports 5526 under the Communications and Networks Competency and is working with the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) team in NED T&E.

Dan Jones843-218-6780

Dan Jones is a 50A representative. He graduated in 2007 from Clemson University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and started at SPAWAR on June 4, 2007. Jones supports 53330 under the Command and Control Com-petency and has supported PM MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) and other MARCOR-SYSCOM vehicle integrations since July 2007. He began

as an initial vehicle inspector, C4I QA inspector, and has acted as Project Lead in the prototype engineering group for two years. Jones is also currently the acting MRAP JPO FWD C4I LNO.

Coleman Lowry843-218-4479

Coleman Lowry is the NPCA Chair-man and a 50C representative. A gradu-ate of the University of South Carolina (B.S.E.E.) he joined the command Feb 19,, 2008. Lowry supports 5534 in the Communications and Networks Competency and is involved with the United States Coast Guard in regard to UHF MILSATCOM instal-lations and fleet support.

D.J. Tyree843-218-5427

Daniel (DJ) Tyree is the NPCA Web-site Coordinator, Social Coordinator, and 50A corepresentative. After graduating Clemson University with a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering, he joined the command June 11, 2007. Tyree is in 53130 and is involved with supporting the SCHOLAR (SPAWAR Collaboration Hub and Online Learning Architecture) technology. The technology is based off of open-source software platforms being integrated in order to create federated collaborative environments. Tyree is also involved with recruiting and currently the 5.3.1 Web site administrator.

Holly Quick757-541-6841

Holly Quick is the Tidewater Area Representative and a 50B representative. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she has been with SPAWAR since Aug 4, 2008. Quick is in 54510 and is involved in supporting the SPAWAR 5.4 Competency Development.

Jeff Welch703-258-2441

Jeff Welch is the National Capitol Region NPCA Representative. A gradu-ate of Clemson University (B.S.C.S) and the University of Virginia (M.S.S.E), he has been with the command since Jan 11, 2003. He currently supports 51620 under the Enterprise Systems Engineering Competency.

The New Professional Council at a glance



Nine SSC Atlantic New Professionals reached a mile-stone Oct. 26 when they were presented their Master Development Plan (MDP) certificates of completion by SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt Bruce C. Urbon and then-Acting Technical Director Kenneth D. Slaughter.

Richard Kelly, Pauletoria Jones, Lucus Overby, Marcus Bryant, Fred Krenson, Jason Carter, Scott Betza, Matthew Meltzer and Roger Gray were congratulated as they reached this milestone in his or her respective careers.

Each New Professional who participates in the Navy Ca-reer Intern Program is required to complete an MDP within two years of their start date. During this two-year period the participants will receive progressive, developmental, supervised on-the-job training and off-site activities that are designed to give them a thorough understanding of their respective career field and of SSC Atlantic.

The MDP also provides a formal structure that ensures

participation in core training events that relate to the perfor-mance, knowledge and skill requirements of their positions.

In FY08 and FY09 SPAWAR hired approximately 90 New Professionals into the Navy Career Intern Program and plan to hire 107 in FY10.

Then-SSC Charleston began the New Professional pro-gram in 2003. New Professionals are hired under the Career Internship Program (CIP) which allows them to apply for positions where a formal training program exists.

Candidates must meet Office of Personnnel Mangae-ment (OPM) qualifications requirements and conditions of employment.

Upon successful completion of the MDP, New Profes-sionals may be noncompetitively converted from exempted to competitive service.

Those interested in pursuing the New Professional pro-gram should e-mail [email protected].

From left, front row, Kenneth D. Slaughter, Richard Kelly, Pauletoria Jones, Lucus Overby, Marcus Bryant and Fred Krenson. Back row, Jason Carter, Scott Betza, Matthew Meltzer, SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon and Roger Gray.

New Professionals mark major milestone

Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development


Story and photos by Deborah GonzalesSSC Atlantic New Orleans Office

Rear Adm. John G. Messerschmidt, Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command, and five key staff members vis-ited SSC Atlantic’s New Orleans Office Nov. 9. The purpose of the visit was to be briefed on the status of supported Navy Reserve programs and to learn about the products, services and capabilities of the New Orleans Office.

Accompanying Messerschmidt were Capt. Bill Carney, Chief Information Officer (CIO); Capt. Dorothy Reed, N1 Deputy Chief of Staff; Capt. Robert O’Neil, N3 Deputy Chief of Staff; Capt. Matthew Ragan, N6 Deputy Chief of Staff; and Cmdr. Maurice Carr, Office of the Chief of Navy Reserve, N0956.

Guests were greeted by Jacqueline Goff, Deputy Tech-nical Director, who provided an overview on SSC Atlantic and the New Orleans Office, including New Orleans Office business lines, products and services, key programs, com-petency aligned structure, and workforce.

Program managers briefed Messerschmidt on the Navy Future Pay and Personnel System (FPPS), the Navy Stan-dard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS), the Reserve Headquarters Support (RHS) system, the Navy Reserve Order Writing System (NROWS), the Career Management System/Interactive Detailing (CMS/ID), the Medical Readi-

ness Reporting System (MRRS), the Reserve Integrated Management System, Financial Management (RIMS FM), and the Inactive Manpower and Personnel Management Information System (IMAPMIS). Some of the programs, such as NSIPS, MRRS, and CMS/ID, provide Total Force support for both active and Reserve components.

The programs provide mission-essential support for Navy business functions, including mobilization, manpower management, assignment management, personnel and pay, readiness, order writing, separation and retirement, and financial management. New Orleans personnel provide comprehensive sustainment services for these programs, including project management, requirements management, configuration management, software changes, testing, production support, database and system administration, application hosting, and Customer Support Center/Help Desk support. All of the programs are under the acquisi-tion oversight of the Navy’s Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO-EIS), Program Man-agement Warfare (PMW) 240 Sea Warrior Program Office.

After the briefing, Dwayne Green, Information Technol-ogy Operations Director, led the Navy Reserve Forces Com-mand officials on a tour of the Data Center, where numerous Navy Reserve programs are hosted. Jamie Passaro conducted a tour of the Customer Support Center, which resolves Navy

Navy Reserve Forces Commander visits New Orleans

Dwayne Green, Information Technology Operations Direc-tor, discusses the monitoring systems in the Data Opera-tions Center. From left are Cheri Couchis, PEO-EIS PMW 240 Sea Warrior Program Assistant Program Manager, Personnel and Pay Systems and Career and Manpower

Management Systems; Capt. Bill Carney, Chief Informa-tion Officer; Capt. Robert O’Neil, N3 Deputy Chief of Staff; Rear Adm. John G. Messerschmidt, Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command; and Capt. Matthew Ragan, N6 Deputy Chief of Staff.


New Orleans Office Customer Support Center manager Jamie Passaro shows Rear Adm. John G. Messerschmidt, Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command, some of the numerous data collected.

New Orleans Office Customer Sup-port Center manager Jamie Passaro leads the group on a tour. From the left are Rear Adm. John G. Messerschmidt, Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command; Capt. Dorothy Reed, N1 Deputy Chief of Staff; Capt. Matthew Ragan, N6 Deputy Chief of Staff; Capt Bill Carney, Chief Information Officer; and Passaro.

Rear Adm. John G. Messerschmidt and Jamie Passaro stop to chat with Customer Support Center engineer Kelly Sharp about Navy Reserve Pay Help Desk operations.

pay, personnel, mobilization, order writing, medical report-ing and other issues as the Navy Distance Support lead for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (MPTE). Customer Support Center personnel also provide support for the Navy Reserve Pay Help Desk, which focuses exclusively on helping Reservists with pay problems.

On Dec. 8, N6 Deputy Chief of Staff Ragan, accompanied by four senior officers, paid a return visit to the New Orleans Office so his staff could “meet their partners” and obtain a first-hand look at the services New Orleans Office personnel provide for Navy Reserve programs.

The New Orleans Office has an extensive history with the Navy Reserve, supporting manpower and personnel systems since the 1980s.

Dwayne Green, Information Technology Operations Director, shows Capt. Dorothy Reed, N1 Deputy Chief of Staff, and Rear Adm. John G. Messerschmidt, Com-mander, Navy Reserve Forces Command, how the Data Center servers operate.


An SSC Atlantic engineering team led by Joe Sisti of Code 555M5 continues to work with Navy Network War-fare Command (NNWC) to determine if there are benefits to transitioning to an Internet Protocol (IP) modem archi-tecture vs. the current Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) architecture for Super High Frequency (SHF) equipped ships.

The team has focused on IP Modems with Dynamic Time Division Multiplexing (DTDM) capability and also IP modems which utilize the Digital Video Broadcast - Sat-ellite Generation 2 (DVB-S2) standard.

The team had the chance to test its theories during the recent Joint User Interoperabil-ity Communications Exercise (JUICE) 2009. JUICE is an annual worldwide Department of Defense exercise sponsored by the Executive Agent The-ater Joint Tactical Networks and hosted by the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command (CECOM) Life Cycle Management Command Software Engineering Center to evaluate new emerging tech-nologies in a Joint Task Force operational environment.

JUICE also validates the tactical concept of operations and management/reporting processes for interoperability

JwUwIwCwEwith the Global Information Grid in support of deployed soldiers, Marines, Sailors and airmen.

For the exercise, the SSC Atlantic team utilized an iDirect Evolution modem network and the DVB-S2 waveform. While working with USS Wasp, they were able to dem-onstrate that an individual ship can surge to use all of the available bandwidth, while other users are still guaranteed

DVB-S2 performance benefits validated at St. Juliens Creek

Figure 1: JUICE IP Modem Architecture


Figure 2: JUICE IP Modem Throughput

their level of service the instant it is required. They also demonstrated that they can effectively use

the Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) capability of DVB-S2 to increase the total throughput of the network by a factor of approximately 100 percent by dynamically varying the Coding and Modulation from QPSK 3/4 to 16APSK 8/9.

The testing for this event was set up as part of the overall JUICE 09 experiment. The Wideband Satcom Lab (WSL) at St. Juliens Creek participated as a secondary hub for the JUICE Network and hosted “Never Sail” (a ship mockup used for testing purposes) while connecting to the USS Wasp and other JUICE participants using the XTAR LANT, X-Band, Satellite service.

USS Wasp was also acting as the naval force for the exer-cise, in addition to participating with the SPAWAR experi-mentation. The portion of the JUICE 09 architecture related to the IP Modem experimentation is depicted in Figure 1.

The goal for the JUICE experimentation was to validate the characteristics of DTDM and DVB-S2 as measured in the laboratory environment. The individual objectives were to:

• validate DTDM and DVB-S2 performs in a demonstra-tion scenario as previously tested in the lab,

• demonstrate that a ship’s allocated bandwidth can surge to take advantage of unused spectral capacity,

• demonstrate the Quality of Service (QoS) insures that others will be reallocated their bandwidth when required based upon user demand and QoS policies and

• demonstrate that there is no user intervention required

to dynamically reallocate bandwidth as required, while guaranteeing individual user capacities.

The SPAWAR team was extremely pleased with the results of the JUICE experimentation. Figure 2 shows one test run, in which USS Wasp surged to use the entire band-width available in the spectrum. At 15 minutes into the test run Never Sail came online and reclaimed its portion of the spectral bandwidth instantly.

For this particular test run, the entire network was operat-ing at almost double its normal capacity, due to the fact that the DVB-S2 allows the users to operate their modulating and coding at 16APSK 8/9 vice a typical setting of QPSK 3/4.

It was also observed that this feature performed as ex-pected during degraded weather conditions. During after-noon thunder showers it was observed that the modulation and coding rates were automatically reduced to counter the effects of the rain fade and then returned to 16 QPSK 8/9 after the rain had passed.

The JUICE 09 testing was just one part of the IP Modem experimentation being conducted by Code 555M5. Sisti’s team is expanding the DVB-S2 results to include multiple vendors as well as additional over-the-air testing in order to provide NNWC and the Navy with quantitative data on which to base future modem architectures decisions.

Participating on Sisti’s IP Modem team are Dr. Dave Glovier (PNS Inc), Andrew Wonpat (STF Ltd), Scott Patchin (Mission Mobility), Roger Mott (WareOnEath) and various other supporting personnel.


SSC Atlantic leadership class a team effort

Photos by Karen Quasny

SSC Atlantic leaders are not only engaging in -- and learning from -- a leadership program that was tailor-made for SSC Atlantic, but several have committed to taking an active role to help deliver the training to others.

The civilian leadership training program, cre-ated by Code 8111 Human Resource Specialist Karen Quasny, is based on leadership foundational pieces of increased self awareness, personal values and ethics, and how these impact our decisions and behaviors.

Feedback from the course has been overwhelm-ingly positive, and many have been inspired to take active roles in the course. Brad Hoisington, supervisory logistics management specialist, Competency 4.3, and Gail Silverman, supervi-sory attorney from the Office of Counsel, Com-petency 3.0, delivered the “Coaching for High Performance” module within the command prior to NSPS implementation. This Department of the Navy-developed course was adapted to meet the current needs of SSC Atlantic and incorporated into the leadership course.

Hoisington and Silverman address listening skills, effective communication techniques, and the tools/techniques of effective coaching through dis-cussion and role plays. Audrey Orvin, supervisory contract specialist in Code 2254, also participated in the shaping and delivery of this module. Steven

Brad Hoisington talks about coaching for high performance during a leadership development class in Norfolk. At right, Jim Yohn of SSC Atlantic’s Office of Counsel takes a break from teaching the ethics module during training in New Orleans Jan. 27.

Harnig, a supervisory contract specialist in Code 2255, deliv-ers the modules on leading people/teams and leading change when the course is delivered in Charleston.

“The Office of Counsel is committed to the Leadership

Photos by Karen Quasny

Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development

Attending the leadership class in Tidewater Nov. 2 through 6 were, from left, first row Bill Clayton, Vincent Kopek, MaryLou Hoffert, Dale Davis; second row, Keith Topping, James New, Felicia Milan, Michael Stephansky, R. Scott Downs, Timothy Walker, Claudia Kiefer, Donna Baker, Richard Boucher and Natalie Mueller.


Tidewater class at-t e n d e e s J a n . 11 through 15 were, from left, seated, Tina Clark, Lou Borden, Jennifer Shauger, Linda Kusar-Fischer, Jody Stearns; stand-ing, Mike Elms, Rick Lewis, Mike Tucker, Tom Klooster, John Fraser, John Carvil, Denis Reilly, Charles Brackett , Warren Munn, Nelson Ard and Bill Wilde.

In New Orleans, from left, Kathryn Bailey, Suzanne Gonzalez, Jim Chris-ty, Lt. Christopher Galliano, Edura Baham, Kelly Bergeron, Cheryl Bruza, Richard Dillon, M’liss Bush, Jeffrey Fox, Lionel Cannon, Milton Frank, and Rosalie Armes attended the class Jan. 25 through 29.

program,” Silverman said. “Jim Yohn, Mike Roys and Bob Peterson have all co-facilitated the ethics module, even traveling to various locations.”

To further enhance the delivery and make the training mobile, SSC Atlantic Command Photographer Joe Bullinger, of Code 853, produced a high quality video covering the ethics portion delivered by Roys, and much of the Coaching for High Performance information presented by Silverman. Bullinger also directed and produced a video featuring Hoisington, Orvin and Harnig as effective and ineffective coaches through a series of role plays. These videos are used in each delivery to stress the “right” and “wrong” way to coach, and to enhance learning.

“This course is successful because of the commitment to leadership de-velopment in SSC Atlantic. Those who are committed are also willing to share their time, knowledge and expertise with others. It is really a team effort, and what a great way to model leader-ship,” Quasny said.

The course is unique because it is SSC Atlantic-specific. All of the case studies and examples discussed are actual cases from the past, within this command, Quasny explained “Discus-sions about coaching and performance are not generic in nature, as with some commercial training, but focus on our specific personnel systems, issues and needs,” she said. “And because it was developed internally, for SPAWAR Atlantic personnel, the material is timely and relevant to the students. The success of this approach is reflected over and over in the feedback from the participants.”

Since the program began in March of last year, 175 supervisors in Charles-


Photo by Karen Quasny

Photo by Karen Quasny

Members of the Nov. 16 through 20 leadership class in Charleston were, from left, front row, Wayne Pannullo, Janice Harley, Rick DeForest, Audrey Orvin, Lisa Rosenbaum, Susan Pendarvis; back row, John Rutledge, Gary Caldwell, Rhett Myers, Tim Bootle, Michael Martin, Bob Czarniecki, Denise Cochran, Joe Weed, Chris Purdy, Richard Baker and Shannan McKitrick.



LeadershipContinued from previous page

SSC Atlantic Command Photographer Joe Bullinger, left, looks at a videotape he produced showing Audrey Orvin and Steve Harnig in a role playing exercise.


ton, Tidewater and New Orleans, as well as employees from Washington, D.C., Tampa, Pensacola and Germany, have attended.

Harnig wanted to be a part of the leadership course because he believes the class participants will make their biggest impact as leaders.

“They have all been promoted, at least in part, due to their technical com-petence,” Harnig said. “Now they are leaders, and I believe that this leader-ship course can provide a foundation or a reminder of some important aspects of leading that will help them be more effective.

“We have attempted to develop meaningful course material and real-life case studies. My main goal is to facilitate my modules so that each class shares ideas with each other. They are all experts on dealing with their issues, and since so many leadership issues are similar, the class discussions are prob-ably the most valuable tool we have to helping SPAWAR Atlantic leaders,” Harnig said.

“I always enjoy teaching the coach-ing class and hearing the stories and shared experiences,” Hoisington agreed. “I continue to be amazed and impressed by the experience, talent and dedication of the SSC Atlantic super-visors. I believe the leadership class Karen has pulled together is having a positive impact on the command,” he said.

Positive course feedback from students demonstrates the value of this customized training leadership approach that, through a better under-standing of yourself, makes you a better leader to others.

The upcoming schedule of classes can be found on CnE under Total Force Management 8.1.0/ Development/ Col-laborative Training Enrollment.

For more information call Shanna Howat at (843) 218-3793.

Members of the Dec. 14 through 18 leadership class were, from left, Richard Briggs, David Hickman, David Osborne, Doug Smith, Ray Gay, Paul Walter, John Steele, Jeffrey Meyers, John Christensen, Scarlette Reid, Jodi Prather, Donald Fraser, David Cohen and Toby Straight.

Taking the class Feb. 8 through 13 in Charleston were, from left, front row, Michael Smith, Richard Kemble, Susanne Hilton, Sallie Scarberry, Therese Robertson, Brian Ratliff and Earnest Brown; back row, Brad May, Steven Rogers, Dennis Warren, David Hatcher, Don Barber, David Howard, Kevin Charlow and John Foore.


S S C A t l a n t i c employees Steven Harnig and Bob Miller recently grad-uated from Leader-ship Charleston, a 10-month program for professionals of-fered by the Charles-ton Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Harnig, of Code 2255, was spon-sored by William Paggi, head of Con-tracts for SSC At-lantic, and Miller, of Code 5313, by Dave Monahan of Code 01B. For 35 years, the chamber has of-fered the program for professionals of-fering an intensive and up-close look at various issues impacting the region.

Beginning with a two-day retreat in September, followed by one-day ses-sions each month through June 2009, the program featured prominent pre-senters and panelists who encouraged discussion and participation. Sessions focused on fundamental leadership principles while examining leadership roles in political, social and economic affairs.

The program is designed to strength-

en the leadership abilities of each participant, and refine skills that can increase organizational effectiveness and efficiency. It gave Harnig and Miller access to an informed network of diverse colleagues for individual, busi-ness and community problem-solving. They were also exposed to other com-munity leaders who are committed to concepts of 21st century leadership. Participation in the program gave them an understanding of the realities, op-

portunities and challenges of our community, as well as solutions and alternatives for dealing with them.

Participants take part in de-bates, lectures, d i s c u s s i o n groups, field ex-periences, simu-lations, work-shops and case studies. Topics include education and workforce deve lopmen t , government and politics, region-al sustainable deve lopmen t , criminal justice, economic devel-

opment, health care, human services and team building.

“It was an honor to be chosen for this program,” said Miller. “I am a better person for having involved myself in Leadership Charleston and developing the relationships that sprouted from this class; they will no doubt last a lifetime.”

To learn more about Leadership Charleston call M. Graham Drayton Jr., at the chamber at (843) 805-3034.

Leadership CharlestonSSC Atlantic’s Harnig and Miller complete Chamber program

Deadline for The Chronicle Summer 2010 issue is June 1

What’s happening in your world that our readers need to know about? We need to know by June 1.

We are already collecting content to fill the pages of the Summer 2010 issue of The Chronicle. If you have a story that you’d like to see there, the deadline to submit it is June 1. Send it to [email protected].

Contact the editor any time with a story idea at (843) 218-4973, DSN 588-4973.

We look forward to reading your stories about the great work you’re doing as a part of the SSC Atlantic team. The power of your experiences is even greater when you take the time to share them!

Have you moved recently or been relocated? Do you want more copies of the magazine, or do you want to be removed from the distribution list? Let us know and we’ll make the appropriate changes to our distribution.

From left, William Paggi, Steve Harnig, Bob Miller and Dave Monihan pose in front of Bldg. 3147 in Charleston. Paggi sponsored Harnig for the course, and Monahan was Miller’s sponsor.



Spruance Hall auditorium, the largest venue on the NWC campus, is a state-of-the-art, multimedia facility with 727 fixed seats and overflow capacity for an additional 150 seats. The SSC Atlantic team installed high-definition video production capability, video teleconferencing, audience microphones, high fidelity sound systems and enhanced light-ing and acoustics.

SSC Atlantic successfully completed two major, high vis-ibility projects at the Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, R.I., recently.

When Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead visited the campus in the fall of 2007, he noted that Spruance Hall auditorium had “a definite ‘70s look” to it. He tasked NWC leadership with bringing the auditorium into the 21st century before he returned for the International Sea Power Symposium in 2009. The symposium, which is held every other year, is one of the largest gatherings of senior Navy and Coast Guard leaders.

Partnering with the Naval Facilities Engineering Com-mand (NAVFAC), which performed construction and reno-vation of the theater early on in the project, an SSC Atlantic team led by Project Engineer Greg Wilford of Code 5347 installed high-definition video production capability, video teleconferencing, audience microphones, high fidelity sound systems and enhanced lighting and acoustics.

Along with Dennis Houk, who is the SSC Atlantic liaison assigned to NWC, Wilford and industry partners from Sci-ence Applications International Corporation (SAIC) worked from spring of 2008 to September of 2009 to complete SSC

Photos providedThe Maritime Operations Center Trainer (MOC-T) simulation battle lab is vital to NWC’s wargaming capability.

Naval War CollegeTwo major projects completed by SSC Atlantic team


Atlantic’s $1.9 million portion of the $7.2 million renovation. The end result was a state-of-the-art, multimedia facility with 727 fixed seats and overflow capacity for an additional 150 seats, all ready with time to spare before the CNO returned for the symposium.

During the ribbon cutting for the newly renovated audito-rium, NWC President Rear Adm. Phil Wisecup praised the team effort between NAVFAC, SPAWAR and NWC. With nearly 100 chiefs of navies and coast guards from around the world in attendance, the symposium offered a great oppor-tunity to show off the handiwork of the SSC Atlantic team.

The second major project undertaken by Houk, Wilford and the SSC Atlantic team was the Maritime Operations Center Trainer (MOC-T) simulation battle lab, which is used in the college’s maritime staff officers’ course. This course prepares officers and senior enlisted personnel to effectively serve in operational staff assignments in Maritime Opera-tions Centers (MOCs). Students spend four weeks in the classroom learning fundamentals, with the final week in the battle lab applying what they have learned using a complex, fictitious case study involving planning and execution of joint/coalition/multinational operations.

The MOC-T now features state-of-the-art computers, two 103-inch plasma screens, phones, audio visual and network-ing capabilities and a video wall.

Actually two identical battle labs, the MOC-T is vital to the college’s wargaming capability. The SSC Atlantic team installed state-of-the-art computers, two 103-inch plasma screens, phones, audio visual and networking capabilities and a video feature wall. SPAWAR’s portion of the $6 mil-lion project was $3.2 million. SSC Atlantic’s Mike Bernard of Code 5337 was on-site at NWC to handle the up-front requirements before Wilford came in for project management and execution with SAIC industry partners.

SPAWAR has had a significant presence at NWC since the mid-1980s. In early 2000 Houk came on board, and over the years a multitude of projects have been accomplished -- from supporting the wargaming department to office and classroom configurations to power, networking and audio-visual upgrades.

As Wisecup noted, Houk’s presence at NWC and SPAWAR’s early involvement in the Spruance Hall and MOC-T projects were instrumental in their success. Plans are already underway for the next project in this successful partnership. See the next issue of The Chronicle for details.



By Jessica MalcolmSSC Atlantic European Office

Have you ever seen the courtesy notices sent out for jobs in Stuttgart, Germany, and won-dered what it would be like to live there? What the jobs would be like ... What your weekends would be like?

I can tell you! Having made a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move to Stuttgart in May 2009, I have started on the adventure of my life.

It was a big step to leave behind everything that I was comfortable with and virtually start over, but what better place to do it than Germany!

When I moved here, I stepped into completely foreign territory. I am work-ing in a different division; previously I was working on sonar for United States Naval Ships (USNS) with Tom Seay. In my position now, I assist the Operation Enduring Freedom Internet Café program in Afghanistan, along with infrastruc-ture projects with the U.S. Marines. I had never met my boss; I had never been to Stuttgart; I didn’t know any of my coworkers and I was moving alone ... what

Jessica Malcolm enjoys a weekend trip to Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and in Western Europe. Below left, Malcolm visits Burg Satzvey, a castle which has been standing since 1396.

Living AbroadPhotos provided


could be scarier? Once I arrived, all of my fear turned into excitement over what I had just done and the possibilities that lay ahead of me.

My sponsor in Stuttgart made the transition easy before arriving. I was given a sponsor who helped me make my move a success and who was there to answer any and all questions that I had. My sponsor happened to be the pro-gram manager for the OEF Internet Café program, Dean Barsaleau. He not only drove me around everywhere until my car arrived, but he sent me reading material about the area, set up my initial hotel, picked me up from the airport, introduced me to the division and many other things above and beyond a sponsor’s job.

Not only did I receive help from my sponsor, but also from my coworkers. My division feels and acts like a family. We all have a weekly lunch together, we celebrate people coming, people leaving, birthdays, holidays and we spend time outside of work with each other. It is a nice feeling to know that everyone has an open door and is willing to answer any questions I may have.

The work I have been assigned to do is the most reward-ing I have ever done. Not only is it directly helping soldiers in an active war zone, but it is a critical improvement to their

At left, the downtown Stuttgart castle. Below left, Tom Giese, another new SSC Atlantic arrival in Germany, works at his desk. Below right, Ryan Harrington, another SSC Atlantic Germany transplant, works on one of his many infrastruc-ture projects.

well being; they are able to connect with their families and friends left at home.

When I am not working I am free to enjoy what living in Germany has to offer. I have never seen so many festivals! Over the summer it seemed as if every town, big or small, had one every weekend and for every reason. I went to one called “cow roulette,” where you bid on which square the cow will do his business!

Germany is also centrally located to many countries; it is a one-hour drive to France, two hours to Austria and Swit-zerland, three to the Czech Republic, four to Belgium and Italy, and short, cheap plane rides to many destinations. In Germany they do a wonderful job of preserving the greenery, and on most weekends you will find people hiking or biking and enjoying the many trails.

Although moving my entire life to Germany was what many might consider a big step, after being here and seeing how much the country -- and my job -- have to offer, I would do it all over again, and sooner.

The next time you see a notice about a job in Stuttgart and wonder if you should apply, just think of all the new experi-ences you’ll be missing if you let that opportunity pass by.


C5ISR conferenceBringing together government and industry

The Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA)hosted the third annual Communications, Command and Control, Computers, Collaboration, Intelligence, Surveil-lance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Government and In-dustry conference Dec. 1 through 4 at the Charleston Area Convention Center.

The conference, which has expanded greatly since it began in 2007, featured more than 615 participants and a variety of guest speakers, industry exhibits, demonstrations and panel discussions.

The theme for the conference, which was cohosted by SSC Atlantic, was “C5ISR Innovations, Initiatives and Technology Insertion in Support of Global Net-Centric Operations.” SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon, SPAWARSYSCOM Commander Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann and then-Program Executive Officer for C4I Christopher Miller (now SSC Atlantic technical direc-tor) were among the guest speakers on the first day of the conference, which included participation by more than 115 SSC Atlantic employees.

The purpose of the conference was to bring together legislative, military and government leadership to discuss innovations, strategies, processes and success stories of how government and industry are working together to improve their collective effectiveness in defending the nation, ac-cording to Mike Resler, CDCA president.

The business practices that government and industry use to meet the current and emerging needs of the warfighter were also highlighted during an Industry Forum hosted by SSC Atlantic’s contracting department. The forum in-cluded contract-related workshops on doing business with SPAWAR, small business strategies, proposal evaluation processes and other information useful to prospective in-dustry partners.

SSC Atlantic Technical Director Christopher Miller, then PEO C4I, speaks at the CDCA C5ISR conference.

Conference attendees listen to an address by SPAWARSYSCOM Commander Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann.



The conference featured four main tracks for both govern-ment and industry panels: cyber warfare, sensor to C2, joint and irregular warfare, and homeland security.

“Our purpose is to advance the government-industry enterprise. Our industry partnerships are really what we are all about,” said Urbon as he helped kick off the conference Dec. 1. “SPAWAR is an organization that allows government and industry’s finest engineers, scientists and technologists from all over the globe to work together to create solutions for warfighters. We need to talk to each other and we have to share ideas,” the captain said.

“Together, we have already been very successful in de-terring, disrupting and even defeating our enemies’ use of technology against us. As long as warfighters’ lives are in peril, we must continue to seek out the new technologies that will keep us ahead of our enemies,” Urbon said.

Bachmann also stressed the importance of the govern-ment/industry partnership. “We will continue to pull on our

Above, conference attendees browse the exhibits during the C5ISR Government and Industry conference. At right, SSC Atlantic’s Bob Miller, center, and Bruce Billian, right, man the SSC Atlantic booth. At right, below, Kathryn Murphy of Code 531 listens to the keynote speaker.

Continued on page 29


Charleston area middle school students showed off their expertise in programming and operating robotic devices in a demonstration held during the C5ISR Government and Industry conference in early December.

Demonstrations such as the one given for conference attendees show how learning can be fun, and illustrate the benefits of mentoring and coaching by SSC Atlantic

FIRST Robotics participants retrieve balls with their robot in a demonstra-tion Dec. 4 during the C5ISR Government and Industry conference.

Photos by Joe Bullinger Dubose Middle School students Cecilia (Ceci) Eargle and Taylor Mendez set up their Lego robot.

volunteers, who assist some area teams with the robotics challenges. As part of SSC Atlantic’s education outreach program, more than 20 employees volunteered during their free time, mentoring students and serving as coaches as part of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) competitions. FIRST was founded in 1989 to inspire youth’s interest in science and technology and

motivate them to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The robotics competitions include students from age 6 to 18 and are held on local, national and international levels. SSC Atlantic engineers and scientists help the teams understand the concepts involved with designing and programming robots to success-fully perform specific tasks.

SSC Atlantic is involved in other school programs aimed at demonstrat-ing the real world applications of engi-neering concepts. These programs are part of a Navywide effort to encourage school children to study STEM.

To volunteer for SSC Atlantic out-reach programs, call Shanda Johnson at (843) 218-4497 or e-mail [email protected] and Mendez of Dubose Middle School show off the talents of their Lego

robot to Cmdr. Christina Ward (Ret.) of Caribou Technologies Inc.

Robotic challenges make learning fun


industry partners,” the admiral said. “The government/industry model we have at both SPAWAR systems centers is a model for all of DoD -- a small, competent government team with a pretty significant industry base. That’s what works so well here in Charleston, especially with projects such as MRAP and M-ATV integration, Common Submarine Radio Room and operations centers,” Bachmann added.

SSC Atlantic Technical Director Christopher Miller, who was Program Executive Officer for C4I at the time, gave his perspective on Assistant Sec-retary of the Navy Research, Devel-opment and Acquisition (ASN RDA) portfolio issues and C4I acquisition.

SSC Atlantic’s Mike Kutch, 50D Department Head and Director for Intelligence Surveillance, Reconnais-sance (ISR), Information Operations (IO), Information Assurance (IA) and Cyber Security, headed a government panel that discussed the topic of cyber strategy implementation. Panelists included SSC Atlantic’s Mike Shafer, Information Operations Division Head; David Smoak, National Cyber Recon-naissance Systems Division Head; and Steve Lariviere, Information Assur-ance (IA) & Cyber Security Division Head. Gary Burnette, Senior Advisor for Cyber and Information Operations for SSC Pacific, was also on the panel.

Kevin S. McGee, Department Head, Command and Control Net-Centric and Platform Integration for SSC Atlan-tic, also headed a government panel discussion on sensor to C2. Panelists included Wayne Perras, Senior Advisor for Experimentation, Office of Naval Research; Brian Clingerman, OPNAV N6FT; Carol Wortman, Deputy Direc-tor, AAIC, CIO/G-6 Army; G.J. Stettler, Director Militarily Critical Technol-ogy Program Office of the Director of Research Under Secretary of Defense, Defense Research and Engineering; and Andrew Farrar, HQE, Lead Engineer for MDA.


Continued from page 27C5ISR conference

SSC Atlantic a vital part ofS.C. engineering cluster

SSC Atlantic is helping to promote engineering in the state as part of the South Carolina Engineering Cluster. The group was an outgrowth of an independent study aimed at building high value business clusters in the region. The S.C. Regional Development Alliance (SCRDA) commissioned the independent economic development consulting firm Angelou Economics to perform the study. Since its inception, more than 200 organizations have joined the S.C. engineering industry group, including government, economic development, academia, engineering companies and professional societies.

The experience and expertise embodied within the cluster is significant. It includes four major engineering institutions that have graduated thousands of scientists and engineers, dozens of community colleges that graduate skilled technicians, and more than 45,000 engineers who reside in the state. It also includes a statewide network of research campuses that develop new technology and support startups, and a statewide government/academic/private industry partnership that provides resources to develop solutions for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

In addition, the engineering cluster has received a grant from the S.C. De-partment of Education to allow middle and high school students to participate in hands-on science and engineering classes in an effort to attract more young students to engineering fields.

South Carolina clusters are driven by the S.C. Council on Competitiveness and the New Carolina initiative, which works collaboratively with partners from business, government, academia and the economic development sector towards a goal of increased per capita income in the state.

For more information visit the S.C. Engineering Cluster Web site at http://www.southcarolinaengineering.org.

From left, SSC Atlantic’s Bob Miller; SSC Atlantic industry partner Jack Foley; Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA) Vice Presi-dent Jack Moore; Scientific Research Corporation’s James Ward (former SSC Atlantic technical director); Dr. Dennis Fallon, Dean of Engineering at The Citadel; Dr. Keith Plemmons of The Citadel, and Craig Solem of Lockheed Martin and met to discuss partnering opportunities as part of the S.C. engineering cluster.


SSC Atlantic team is more united than ever

“SSC Atlantic’s first formative year has seen significant progress and challenges. The successes have been the result of the planning and teamwork that began well before the standup,” said SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon. The challenges came in the form of sweep-ing initiatives that were already underway at the moment the BRAC decision to consolidate the East Coast SPAWAR entities into Atlantic was being implemented.Elements of SSC Atlantic

Elements of SSC Atlantic included three primary naval engineering organizations and elements of a fourth. The Charleston and Tidewater activities -- along with SPAWAR sites in Washington, D.C.; Pensacola and Tampa, Fla.; Patuxent River, Md.; Europe and the Middle East -- were consolidated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission. SSC Charleston had its roots in the Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center, and came about officially as the result of the 1993 BRAC commis-sion decision to consolidate four former naval activities into the Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance, In-Service Engineering, East Coast Division (NISE East). SSC Norfolk began as the Navy Management Systems Support Office (NavMASSO), which was established in 1978. In addition, SPAWARSYSCOM directed that SSC New Orleans and elements of SSC San Diego that were located in the Tidewater area of Virginia be consolidated with SSC Atlantic. SSC New Orleans began as the Informa-tion Systems Office for Commander, Naval Reserve Force (COMNAVRESFOR) in 1986. Implementation team

To prepare for the transitions that would be required to consolidate systems centers for Atlantic and Pacific, SPAWARSYSCOM produced a charter which established the Team SPAWAR BRAC Implementation Steering Council (TSBISC). For the Atlantic standup, an integration group was formed which included the three commanding officers and technical directors from systems centers in Norfolk, Charleston and New Orleans, along with three facilitators,

Ken Slaughter from SSC Charleston, Mark Wilde from SSC Norfolk and Jacqueline Goff from SSC New Orleans.

“It was a very methodical approach to transition,” Slaugh-ter said. “The nine of us, and other people we invited to the monthly meetings, met with our own governing bodies on integration concerns, and we met with senior leadership. There was a BRAC summit where we had to report out as SSC Norfolk, SSC Charleston and SSC New Orleans on our progress as we headed toward the stand up,” he added. United by challenges

The implementation of the BRAC direction to form a new, integrated organization was daunting on its own. Adding to this challenge was the simultaneous deployment of major Navy initiatives. “We had BRAC, National Security Person-nel System (NSPS), Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and, on top of that, Competency Aligned Organization (CAO),” said Slaughter.

These multiple implementations created an environment that actually facilitated the integration of SSC Atlantic. Each constituent organization faced the same issues in transfor-mation of personnel systems, competency alignment, and business methods, allowing SSC Atlantic to create common frameworks in these areas.

Said Slaughter, “That compilation of endeavors created a synergy and we really got a lot of bang for our buck because these were the issues we had to look at for integration. As we sat down in our meetings from month to month, all we had already accomplished in those initiatives had pretty much made us change ready, and that helped fuel the whole integration.”

Another challenge arose after the Atlantic standup: an In-spector General (IG) visit from SPAWARSYSCOM. The IG visit is a routine command inspection to ensure SSC Atlantic is maintaining the highest levels of readiness, effectiveness discipline, efficiency, integrity and public confidence. “Be-cause we were focusing on the integration, I think we were better prepared for the IG inspection,” Slaughter said. “We had a very successful inspection; their findings were things

A year and a half later


we knew about and were already working on, so that was a challenge that turned out to be fortuitous as well.”

Even with the unexpected synergy of these multiple implementations, there were still more basic challenges. “Probably the biggest challenge was that we brought all these groups of people in, and we were, to borrow a phrase, ‘separated by a common language.’ We were all speaking English, but those words mean something different to ev-eryone. So in our meetings, throughout our functional teams and even on the Board of Directors, someone from New Orleans would say one thing, Charleston would hear another, Norfolk would hear another. One of the challenges was to think twice about what you are hearing and think twice about your words, and be clear because not only are we coming from different locales but we’re coming from different commands,” Slaughter said.

SSC Atlantic Deputy Technical Director Patty Fuller noted “This was challenging for Tidewater because of the many com-plex changes that have occurred with the Defense Base Closure and Realign-ment actions and tran-sition to a Competency Aligned Organization and Enterprise Resource Plan-ning. But the good news — and the real success story is that through it all — Tidewater personnel never wavered in support to their customers. Some organizations would have been gobbled up by the complexity of these changes, but Tidewater personnel kept their focus on the mission.”

“All of us in SSC Atlantic have had to rethink the way we do everything,” SSC Atlantic Deputy Technical Direc-tor Jacqueline Goff observed. “We have unique cultures, regional differences, individual requirements, and to some extent, we’ve had to shed our ties to the past. But the real victory with the integration is that we’re still unique in our respective areas, despite the changes. We’ve got our eyes on the prize — working as a unified SSC Atlantic team — and we’re getting more traction and efficiency through the sum of our individual parts; but at the end of the day, we’re still recognized as the New Orleans team. We have the best of both worlds.”United in new scope and diversity

“Not only did we change our name, we significantly

changed the scope of what we’re doing,” Slaughter said. “When we integrated these other organizations and com-mands we added two major mission areas, Manpower, Training and Education (MPTE) -- the predominate focus of New Orleans -- and the logistics side of the equation with the NTSS programs and some of the logistics focus in SSC Norfolk,” he added

The combination of the Norfolk, New Orleans and Charleston centers brought thousands of civilian and military personnel together, creating a broader warfighter perspective than previously existed at any single SSC.

The consolidation also made SSC Atlantic a more diverse organization. “And as we benchmarked each other into SSC

Atlantic, I truly believe we used those challenges to make us a better or-ganization,” Slaughter said. “That gave us the opportunity as a global, geographically dispersed organization to stretch our arms and stretch our legs and figure out how to run.”

Kevin McGee, the Net Centric Integration, Pro-duction and Command and Control Lead, agreed that besides the obvious benefits of having more people and more locations, the SSC Atlantic success story has to do with diver-sity. “We’re really inte-grating a diverse group of people, skills, experiences and even cultures into the organization. We’ve become one organization with a lot of rich history

from each of the individual organizations. We’ve all had many significant accomplishments as single, independent organizations, but we bring all that together into one now. By coming together there’s so much opportunity for us moving forward into the future,” he said.

“Folks are engaged, and working hard to make SSC Atlan-tic successful. I have always believed that the success of an organization is its people, and what I see in SSC Atlantic is that we have great people at all the locations, and everybody is dedicated to making it work,” McGee said.

“I could see it, people juggling spinning plates in the air — no one had to be told to do it — they just did it. I think it really speaks to the health of this organization that personnel accomplished their mission due to their sacrifice, work ethic and dedication,” Fuller said.


Kevin McGee, the Net Centric Integration, Production and Command and Control Lead; Jacqueline Goff, Deputy Tech-nical Director, SSC Atlantic New Orleans Office; and Ken Slaughter, Director of Corporate Operations, take a break from a strategy meeting in Charleston.


“Making the integration work is really a story about change management. We’ve had ups and downs, and I haven’t stopped long enough to tally whether the ‘ups’ have won!” Goff joked. “But I will say that as long as our people see value, and feel valued, the end goal is in sight. We know that the integration is bringing added value to the Navy.” United by competency alignment

The CAO model is aligning the knowledge, skills and abilities of the SPAWAR workforce with workload demands driven by the requirements of warfighters and the organi-zations that support them. To transform SPAWAR into an enterprise with growth opportunities both for personnel and the organization, eight competency domains were defined. Every SPAWARrior has been placed in a competency domain with roles, responsibilities and a roadmap for training.

“The CAO journey has been significant, and it is going to change the way we operate. It is going to change the way we think, the way we behave and the way we look at how our work is done across the organization,” Fuller said. “We have every opportunity in the world to make this shine and work, or we can deny ourselves that opportunity and allow it to fail. When you have an organization that is this big and this distributed, it actually can be the means to your success. You have to put in a lot of ‘think’ time in figuring out how to make all of that work.”

McGee notes the VA Chapter 33 project is a perfect ex-ample of how CAO teaming is working at SSC Atlantic. “The VA project is a huge challenge,” he said, “but what I see is a great willingness of our people to work together. They’re not worried about which organization is doing it, or who is leading it. It’s the right thing to do, and we’re bringing the talent to bear from across the teams, and pulling together to solve a national issue.

United in business modelSSC Atlantic has been building the

infrastructure and the processes to sup-port this construct and to consolidate all parts of the organization into a unified business model. This model influenced processes for Finance, Contracts, Help Desk, Total Force Management and Security.

One of the most significant chal-lenges of the transformation to SSC Atlantic has been the integration of mission-funded and Navy Working Capital Fund financial systems into a hybrid financial organization. Brenda Hart and Tom Tucker in Tidewater and Anthony Jones in New Orleans teamed with Freddie Hicks and the Charleston financial team to accomplish this.

What were formerly three separate contracting organizations — Charles-ton, Norfolk and New Orleans — now function as one unit, with one collective

voice. “Training via VTC has been particularly beneficial to our team, as has regular communication and engagement among competency leads,” said Ed Wallace, director of the New Orleans Office Contracts Competency. Remaining integration tasks are more tactical than strategic in nature, Wallace noted, and include such things as completion of the loading of contracts data into the SPS database and standard-izing the IT procurements staffing process.

“Seamless” is how Jamie Passaro, manager of the New Orleans Office Customer Support Center (CSC)/Help Desk, described the integration of fleet and customer support ser-vices across SSC Atlantic. The goal was to determine how to work together smartly, leveraging expanded capabilities and resources, while maintaining the same level of superior service to customers. During the past 18 months this com-petency has explored the best way to capitalize on common practices and processes to ensure provision of a consistent level of services and benefits to customers. The challenge now is to completely eliminate redundant activities. But since the team shares the same vision, this should not be a difficult task, noted Passaro. “I’m sure there are many good examples of how well the integration has progressed across SSC Atlantic, but from our perspective, CSC/Help Desk functions are being delivered by one SSC Atlantic team.”

This has been a most interesting and challenging time, according to Dave Walters, 5.4 local competency lead for SSC Atlantic. Along with the standup of SSC Atlantic, a new department, Business Enterprise Information Systems, was established. Led by Dr. Jennifer Watson, and composed of personnel from three different organizations, the former SSC Norfolk, SSC New Orleans and SSC Charleston, the department focuses primarily on systems that support Navy,

SSC Atlantic – Tidewater Synchronization team members are, from left, front row, Dr. Carol Smith, Jennifer Schauger, Brenda Hart, YNCS(SW/AW) Mi-chael Brown, Patty Fuller and James Farley; and back row, Kirby Johnson, Tom Tucker, Mark Wilde, Dave Walters and Nelson Ard.

Photo by Sharon Anderson


joint and federal customers in the areas of logistics, personnel and facilities protection information technology systems.

The consolidation of the SPAWAR sites under one orga-nization presents many opportunities to increase efficiencies across business lines, as well as in the functional areas that SPAWAR is noted for, including systems engineering and design; project management; acquisition; and shipboard systems spanning all areas of command, control, commu-nications, computers and intelligence.

“Although individually we’ve enjoyed a long history in these areas, the standup of SSC Atlantic afforded us an opportunity to begin to amalgamate three distinct cultures and capabilities into a single unit. The resultant emergent capabilities allow us to improve support to our customers,” Walters said. “Leadership at the branch and division level has been paramount in this effort. Our leadership and our personnel have risen to the challenges and have ensured that our support to customers met or exceeded expectations.”

According to Fuller, “We could not live with stove-piped support across the region, or we would have failed our first year of integration. The BRAC renovation projects required us to move teams of people into different spaces; naturally, we did not have ‘premium’ spaces just waiting for all this happen. There was a fair amount of disruption and negotia-tion that had to occur – and it was their job to make it happen – that isn’t always easy, popular or fun.” Fuller also noted this work is a balancing act to better support the warfighter in the long run.

Since the transition to SSC Atlantic, the 8.1 Total Force Management competencies in Charleston, New Orleans and Norfolk have conducted weekly VTCs and phone confer-ences. During the meetings, discussions have centered on “the way ahead” as an organization, ongoing commitments and accomplishments. HRO personnel and counterparts throughout SSC Atlantic coordinate on hiring policies and recruitment pack-ages while keeping the communication flowing between Personnel Management Advisors (PMAs) and supervisors.

“We are on the right track with recruit-ments and hiring, and with some addi-tional work to clarify recruitments that di-rectly affect realignment of personnel and organizational structure, the process will be even further improved,” said Charnelle Brown, the Total Force Manager in New Orleans. Brown said the integration has brought a renewed spotlight on Defense Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) positions. Additional teaming efforts in this area will help SSC Atlantic’s goal of increasing the certification rate of its acquisition workforce employees.

The ongoing effort to consolidate in-structions from New Orleans, Charleston

and Norfolk that address IT and IA policy and procedures is helping achieve the objective of a single overarching SSC Atlantic security strategy. “This is a valuable accomplish-ment. We have numerous security requirements from DoD as well as the Department of the Navy,” said Lionel Cannon, IT management lead in New Orleans. “It’s essential that we use a standard, common process to meet requirements, us-ing the best practices from each component.” Establishing various IA Integrated Process Teams (IPTs) and leaning IA processes improve efficiency as well as security manage-ment, he noted.

Continued coordination with the SSC Atlantic Security Office to combine security guard contracts will provide a substantial cost savings, Galliano reported. Efforts to up-grade the physical security badging system will enhance the safety of all employees.United in process improvement, strategic planning, communications

SSC Atlantic’s commitment to inject LSS practices into its process improvement efforts aligns with the Secretary of the Navy’s challenge to create more readiness and assets within Navy budgets through LSS. Colleagues in Charles-ton, New Orleans and Norfolk have teamed to implement an integrated SSC Atlantic LSS program. This program has boosted the requirements for, and visibility of, projects with identified return on investment. One such project — leaning production operations for jobs and transactions supporting manpower and personnel systems hosted on mainframe computers at DISA’s Defense Enterprise Computing Center in Mechanicsburg — has resulted in preliminary estimated ROI savings of $400,000.

“Having an SSC Atlantic LSS maturity model index Continued on page 45

Rod Smith, Deputy Commander/Executive Director of SPAWAR Systems Command, center, makes a point during a recent New Orleans town hall meeting led by SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon, right.

Photo by Tom Egbert


Some people say the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing time and time again and expecting different results.

At SSC Atlantic, we are con-stantly innovating and pushing the limits of science to provide the warfighter with the best sup-port possible. Since SSC Atlantic is a C4ISR organization, this makes us look at the design of an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) differently than anyone else.

Sarah Leitner, an engineer in 533 with 10 years of program-ming and system integration experience, and an undergradu-ate degree in naval architecture, probably looks at things even more differently than most SPAWAR employees.

Considering that around 70 percent of the surface of earth is covered with water, she reasoned that a UAS needs be able to take off and land on water. Armed with this logical assumption, she applied to the command Innovation Program and was awarded a grant to cover the design of a water-landing and takeoff UAS.

An undergraduate degree in naval architecture had taught her that planing hulls need a lot of power to begin planning and therefore consume a lot of their fuel just getting ready to take off. This may also determine engine size. The traditional approach to the water landing and take-off of a UAS is to create a UAS that is very similar to a seaplane. A seaplane is in essence a twin-hulled vessel with the same problems as a planing hull and the additional loss of the ability to land on land. Clearly, a new approach was necessary.

Leitner believed that SPAWAR can leverage its strengths in elec-tronics, antennas, systems engineer-ing and systems integration to design a unique UAS for the warfighter. She believed that SPAWAR’s strengths, coupled with engineering first prin-ciples, would enable SPAWAR to create an optimal UAS.

Since a UAS is an order of mag-nitude smaller than a conventional airplane -- and this is not including micro-UAS’s--and some impor-

tant design factors do not scale proportionally, a scaled-down airplane is not the best approach.

Discussions with personnel in 5.3 and 5.8 raised the issue of the importance of information security in the design of a UAS. This helped Leitner realize that any UAS used in enemy territory must be able to keep from being seen and must be able to destroy its contents if it is discovered.

Discussions with the warf-ighter honed the concept even further by highlighting the criti-

cal mission requirement that the warfighter’s use of advanced technology, such as a UAS, not inadvertently reveal the location of the warfighter. This further highlighted the im-portance of information security and stealth.

Leitner believed that SPAWAR could utilize its many contractor relationships in the design of this UAS. Therefore, she found a contracting company that is at work on a trans-formational and evolutionary UAS concept. Discussions with this company helped her sharpen her ideas.

The result of this inter-SPAWAR collaboration is that Leitner is leveraging SSC Atlantic strengths – innovation, C4ISR, electronics, information security, antennas, system engineering and integration – into a cohesive whole, a ves-

sel that is built from the ground up to be a UAS.

This UAS will be especially suited to modern warfare and will make a great difference in some of the dirtiest, dullest and most danger-ous missions of the war. This UAS will be stealthy and will come in multiple variants that are uniquely suited to diverse mission types. Some variants will water land and takeoff, some will be less than a meter in wingspan, and some will be five meters long. Some will utilize batteries and some will use readily available fuels. Some may be able to fold into a backpack.

All will harness SPAWAR’s strengths to provide the warfighter with increased capabilities.

An ‘inter’ SPAWAR approach to Unmanned Aerial System design

Planing hullA planing hull is designed to ride on

top of the water rather than plow through it. This reduces the drag on the hull and therefore the hull goes faster. This is the mechanism that allows a seaplane to take off.

However, getting onto a plane ex-pends significant fuel and limits the range of the UAS, thus imposing a severe limitation on this approach.

Photo by Joe BullingerSarah Leitner


Meritorious findings highlight SSC Atlantic successesSPAWAR Inspector General (IG) inspections, such as the

one undertaken at SSC Atlantic in May of 2009, occur every three years to evaluate and measure how well the center ac-complishes its mission.

The SPAWAR IG team of approximately 40 subject matter experts and competency leads from headquarters noted 29 meritorious findings and 36 findings of record in Charleston, New Orleans and Tidewater.

As employees throughout the SSC Atlantic sites aggres-sively correct and close out the findings of record, the IG team’s 29 meritorious findings offer insight into SSC At-lantic’s success in many areas.

Eleven meritorious find-ings were noted in the area of mission performance. Com-petency Aligned Organiza-tion (CAO) implementation across geographical locations at SSC Atlantic was lauded, as was the CAO engagement throughout the 1.0, 3.0 and 8.0 competencies.

In the program/project management area of mission performance, SSC Atlan-tic’s innovative continuing education programs were praised, along with the non-Navy program of record dashboard review process. The project management survey tool has a dashboard report giving senior leadership a quick look on project risks in critical areas.

In the fleet/customer support area of mission performance, the 4.1 heads-up display, a Web-based metric that allows monitoring of system-level status, was commended as an outstanding tool. A customer service survey distributed to key customers in advance of the inspection also provided positive feedback on SSC Atlantic’s mission support, quality of work, timeliness and responsiveness.

Government and industry use of continuous process im-provement (CPI) resulted in a direct savings of more than $2M in FYs 07 and 08, the team noted.

A Project Profile survey and Management Project Oversight and Monitoring Checkup survey tool on CnE, developed by the SSC Atlantic CMMI lead teaming with the chief engineer’s office of SSCs Atlantic and Pacific, was ap-plauded for integrating previously developed materials from both commands in the systems engineering reviews portal.

Also in the mission performance area, CPI Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training levels were described as “exemplary” based on workforce population, well exceeding established goals.

In the engineering and ISEA operations area of mission performance, SSC Atlantic’s Engineering Process Office (EPO) Web site was praised. Measures of success on cur-rent projects also earned kudos. The inspector noted that SSC Atlantic is to be commended for its efforts in providing understandable and easily accessible engineering processes to its staff. Systems engineering workforce development, including CMMI, LSS, ISO 9000 training and Web-based training courses were also commended.

In the area of strategic management, SSC Atlantic was lauded for visible and consistent customer focus using

Balanced Scorecard strategic objectives.

SSC Atlantic earned praise for keeping delinquency rates for the government travel charge card well below the Navy’s goal. The Agency Program Coordinator (APC) does a great job monitoring split disbursement reports in the Defense Travel System, inspectors noted.

In the area of contracting, SSC Atlantic’s contract strat-egy utilizing the Contracting

Strategy Council was called “excellent.” The center’s Con-tractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) program management was rated “exceptional,” with the 97 percent completion rate the highest in SPAWAR. Automated management tools that have enhanced the visibility and management of the contracting function were also praised.

The team found that SSC Atlantic has served as a center of excellence for VTC installations and upgrades. The cen-ter has also achieved a dramatic improvement in the rate of Information Assurance workforce training and certification. The migration of former SSC Norfolk’s Web site and com-mand intranet to CnE in a three-phase operation was lauded.

Also praised were the SSC Atlantic Office of Counsel, the Small Business Office and Customer Support Center. The establishment of the Atlantic Integration Team’s char-tered working group to develop a tool migration plan was accepted as a best practice. The tools subgroup provides a rationalization process to define criteria for continued IT investment decisions.

Also applauded by the IG were the GreenBoard VIP track-ing tool, prescreening of new employees, the reduction of classified documents by the security team, the information security education program, and IT metrics developed to indicate service demand signals.

SPAWAR IG team visit


SSC Atlantic has entered into an Education Partner-ship Agreement (EPA) with The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina.

SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon and Citadel President Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa, USAF (Ret.) met Dec. 11 at SSC Atlantic to discuss ways to strengthen relationships and increase connec-tions at the two organizations.

“This is an important interface for our organizations. It strengthens the education of our young people,” Rosa said. “I’m excited about it and I thank everyone who made it happen.”

The partnership enhances the educational experi-ence of cadets at The Citadel by providing access to the staff, expertise, facilities and equipment related to naval warfare systems technology available at SSC Atlantic. It will also promote cadets’ interest in sci-

From left, Dr. John Moore, Citadel Math and Computer Science Department Head; Dr. Charles Groetsch, Dean of Math and Science; Military Magnet Academy Commandant Lt. Col. Joseph Dawson; Dr. Ron Hemingway, Assistant Professor, chemistry; Dr. Dennis Fallon, Dean of The Citadel School of Engineering; Dr. Keith Plemmons, Associate Professor, civil and environmental engineering; Citadel President Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa, USAF (Ret.); SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon; Bob Miller of Code 5313; Col. Paul Dunahoe, USMC, Department Head, naval science; Erik Rooman, physics laboratory coordinator; George Rudolph, Assistant Professor, math and computer science; Luke Sollitt, Associate Professor, physics; and Dr. Joel Berlinghieri, head of The Citadel physics department, gather to discuss The Citadel/SSC Atlantic partnership.

SSC Atlantic partners with The Citadel


PartnersPartners

Citadel President Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa, USAF (Ret.) listens as SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon briefs the Citadel visitors on the opportunities of the new partnership.


ence, mathematics and engineering, particularly related to space and naval warfare systems technology. SSC Atlantic offers the cadets the opportunity to see first-hand a working Department of Defense (DoD) laboratory.

Also on hand for the official signing of the agreement between the two organizations were representatives from The Citadel, including the dean of the School of Engineer-ing, the dean of Math and Computer Science, along with professors from their respective departments. SSC Atlantic engineers and department heads were also in attendance.

Led by Urbon and Rosa, the group discussed ways to expand existing SSC Atlantic initiatives for engineering students, such as co-op student and summer intern programs, as well as adding potential new mentoring programs. At-tendees agreed on the importance of generating interest and enthusiasm about math and technology-related education and career paths among students from elementary school on up, explained programs underway at each organization to accomplish the goal, and discussed ways to collaborate in the future.

The EPA provides many opportunities to support the warfighter and create learning experiences for students. Since Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) departments at The Citadel represent all branches of the U.S. armed forces, and SSC Atlantic is a Navy command with customers

across all services, the partnership promises to be especially beneficial. ROTC instructors can help educate civilian SSC Atlantic engineers and employees in “Navy 101” classes, providing a better understanding of the Navy and general military operations. Cadets can work jointly with scientists, engineers and mathematicians to fulfill their highest academic potential. Instructors and laboratory personnel can co-develop programs for which students may be given academic credit. The partnership provides academia and DoD personnel the opportunity to share ideas and create synergies.

No monetary funding will be exchanged between SSC Atlantic and The Citadel under the partnership. The agree-ment allows SSC Atlantic to transfer surplus computer or scientific equipment to the college, loan laboratory equip-ment to the college, provide academic and career advice to students, and provide laboratory personnel who may teach science courses or assist in developing courses or related educational material, if needed.

Education partnerships are in accordance with public law which authorizes defense laboratories to enter into EPAs with U.S. educational institutions in order to improve science, mathematics and engineering education.


Hanahan Middle School Principal Robin Rog-ers congratulates, from left, Ayla El-Mereebi, Jaylynne Le and Lizzy Sieger after they received certificates from Cmdr. Jim Hadley of SSC At-lantic Code 531L0. The students took part in the annual patriotic essay contest sponsored at the middle school by SSC Atlantic and the Ralph A. Johnson VA Hospital. The topic students were asked to write about this year was “Generations of Valor.” Winner of the essay contest was

Hanahan Middle essayists honored

Lizzy Sieger, with Jaylynne Le taking second and Ayla El-Mereebi third. Hanahan Middle School is also an education partner with SSC Atlantic.



It was impossible to step into the San Diego Conven-tion Center for AFCEA West 2010 and not see or hear about SPAWAR. Team SPAWAR was well represented by its striking exhibit featuring Team SPAWAR programs, knowledgeable speakers and panelists, and strong leadership presence. Presented by AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute, West 2010 was held Feb. 2-4, and was the perfect venue for Team SPAWAR to shine.

There were exhibits for SPAWAR Headquarters and both SSCs, Atlantic and Pacific. The SSC Pacific exhibit displayed projects such as Tactical Communication Solu-tions and the Department of the Navy Information Tech-nology Umbrella Program. The Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (PEO C4I); PEO for Enterprise Information Sys-tems (PEO EIS); PEO for Space Systems; and Joint Program Executive Office Joint Tactical Radio Sys-tem (JPEO JTRS) exhibits exemplified SPAWAR’s accomplishments and technical expertise.

Team SPAWAR pre-sentations were a special event at West this year. SPAWAR Commander Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann, program managers and technical experts [rec removing here as their job titles would be required, making this para very cumbersome] briefed conference attendees amid the SPAWAR exhibits, a fitting backdrop displaying the many warfare projects that SPAWAR leads. These presentations were highly attended by an engaged audience that interacted with the speakers during the ques-tion and answer sessions.

SPAWAR provided updates and discussed important top-ics such as SPAWAR engineering initiatives and Navy C4I. Thomas Gwiazdowski, SSC Atlantic lead for Experiments and Exercises, was impressed by the Team SPAWAR presen-tations. “It was a great opportunity for Team SPAWAR to interact with other government organizations as well as our industry partners in a three-day exchange of information and dialogue. The briefings and question and answer sessions with Rear Adm. Bachmann and Rear Adm. Burroughs at the Team SPAWAR booth provided informal and direct access to the senior leadership of Team SPAWAR.”

SSC Pacific Commanding Officer Capt. Mark Kohlheim, acting Program Executive Officer C4I Capt. John Pope, and Sea Warrior Program (PEO EIS PMW 240) Program Man-ager Capt. Michael Murphy were also featured speakers. Dr. Richard North, Technical Director of JPEO JTRS, provided

a JTRS update and gave a show and tell of the innovative products at the JPEO JTRS booth.

Terry Simpson, PEO C4I’s Deputy Program Executive Officer for Intelligence, spoke about the cyberspace do-main. Simpson explained that cyber warfare is a new kind of war. “The weaponry is different, the techniques are dif-ferent, and information is the weapon,” Simpson said. He also addressed the importance of innovation in budgeting, developing, delivering and employing tools and capabilities for the requirements that we don’t know today, but will need to deliver tomorrow.

One of the most popular subjects of the conference was Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), addressed by Andy Farrar, PEO C4I’s Special Assistant for MDA. Farrar discussed the future direction of MDA. He expects more

interaction with coalition partners and nontraditional partners. Farrar explained that there are a lot of tech-nologies available, but it’s also important to focus on the current policies in shar-ing and the issues that exist within the United States to be able to make data avail-

able to the broadest audience possible.SPAWAR Atlantic’s Technical Director, Chris Miller,

discussed MDA as a panelist under the Global Maritime Domain Awareness: Can It Be Achieved? topic. Miller stressed that the global MDA problem is not about technol-ogy or systems, but rather process and policies. “We’ve got to figure out how to operate in cyberspace because that is the lowest common denominator,” Miller said. The problem with operating in cyberspace is figuring out how to share, protect certain data, and be safe and intelligent in the cyber environment, Miller explained.

Bachmann expressed his pride in the PEOs and Systems Centers and recognized many of their accomplishments, such as SSC Atlantic’s MWR Internet cafes in Afghanistan and Iraq and the technical support provided to the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. Bachmann also mentioned that SPAWAR is present in all of the Navy’s seaports. “That’s our first and foremost [missing noun here: goal? Role?], ensure that our fleets can get underway and be connected to the Global Information Grid,” Bachmann said. Speed and delivery to the warfighter, cyber, and growing the workforce were also important topics Bachmann addressed.

Bachmann also presented the Cyber Issues: What Should Be the Priorities? Panel, where he introduced retired Vice

SPAWAR stands out among the crowdAFCEA West 2010



A Publish It! product byDr. Shayna Johnson, PhD

Nov. 4, 2009 marked the third annual Small Business In-novation Summit and Expo hosted by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s ThinkTEC division.

The Charleston ThinkTEC’s mission is to accelerate the growth of high-tech and knowledge-based business in the Charleston region. SSC Atlantic’s Bob Miller, senior systems engineer, and Dr. Stephen Jarrett, chief technologist, serve as ThinkTEC advisory board steering committee members and the liaisons between SSC Atlantic and the chamber.

The Small Business Innovation Summit and Expo pro-vided an opportunity for small businesses from around the area to converge to share new technologies and new ideas. Participants ranged from large to small companies, from start-up status onward. As in previous years, SSC Atlantic was a large presence during the summit and in the exhibition hall as a model of a large, mature company.

Topics of interest at the expo ranged from business plan-ning, funding, marketing, social media, branding, technology and more. This year’s theme was “Practical Tools to Grow and Thrive,” and the breakout sessions focused on four major areas: Business Boot Camp for Starting a Business; Growing Your Business through Marketing; Innovation: The Basis of Business and Engine for Productivity Improvement and Business Growth; and Human Resources: Workplace and Team Member Solutions.

Networking breaks and a culinary showcase luncheon allowed participants a chance to interact and exchange ideas with SSC Atlantic representatives in attendance. Bob Meddick, Deputy for Small Business Contracts, and Jarrett led the interactive roundtable discussions on the subject of

government contracts. General questions were also posed. Shannon Baxter-Clemmons from the South Carolina

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance asked, “Is there a need for hydrogen fuel cells at SPAWAR?” Dr. Jarrett responded by explaining SSC Atlantic is constantly searching for new and improved technologies.

Christopher Davis, a finalist in the engineering category of the New Ideas SC Contest, developed a system that meets the needs of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facili-ties for employee/visitor clearance into building offices. His question was simply, “How do I get my foot in the door with a large company like SPAWAR?”

Linda Blanton, an ex-SSC Atlantic employee and small business specialist, stated that, “SPAWAR has always been the forerunner in promoting small business…particularly, in the area of government contracts.”

SPAWAR representatives at the Small Business and In-novation Summit and Expo, from left, front, Ron Kennedy, Dr. Steve Jarrett, and Bob Meddick; back row, Bob Miller, Dr. Shayna Johnson, Hillary Harris, Linda Blanton and Shannon Britt.

SSC Atlantic reaches out to small business

Adm. Nancy Brown, former Joint Staff J6. “[Cyber] opportunities and challenges abound at each turn. So far I think we have made great strides in developing and fielding systems that maximize the use of cyberspace,” Bachmann said. He discussed the challenges of cyber, including communication, collaboration and information technology systems.

SPAWAR Chief Engineer, Rear Adm. Jerry Burroughs, spoke to conference attendees about SPAWAR engineering initiatives. Some of these include supporting the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance (OPNAV N2/N6) in developing mission capability roadmaps, network alignment with Consolidated Afloat

Networks and Enterprise Services and Next Generation Enterprise Network, and Navy data center consolidation. The network alignment initiative involves developing the system design specification for the Naval Networking Environment ~ 2016. SPAWAR’s efforts will provide technical specification and overarching architecture to identify where the capabilities overlap and where the capabilities and requirements are the same, to identify enterprise service profiles. “This will pay huge dividends for us down the road. There is excellent collaboration between the two program offices,” Burroughs said.

Team SPAWAR employees truly are technical leaders serving to support the warfighter -- which was clearly demonstrated at the exhibits and presentations at West 2010.

- Holly Quick, SSC Atlantic Tidewater Office

Continued from previous pageAFCEA West


While most SPAWAR personnel were preparing for a three-day weekend to honor Martin Luther King Day, Charlene Bates in the Code 58320 Multimedia Systems Engineering Branch was receiving numerous e-mails and phone calls from the Fleet Support Office (FSO) in Little Creek, Va. Several ships in the Norfolk area were planning for emergent deployments to support the Haiti earthquake relief effort. And some of those ships were having problems with their secure video teleconferencing (VTC) systems that needed to be resolved immediately.

Gayle Rickett was in Norfolk providing a tech assist on USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44) and was scheduled to leave Saturday so she could support a West Coast ship the follow-ing week. Fran White was scheduled for a tech assist on USS San Jacinto (CG-56) when she returned from a short sea trial onboard USS Carl Vinson (CV-70). Those plans suddenly changed when Vinson was diverted to Haiti without returning to port. USS Nassau (LHA-4) continued to have problems which could not be resolved with distance support efforts. Bottom line was more VTC subject matter experts (SMEs) were needed in the area as soon as possible.

Cmdr. Russell Legear, SSC Atlantic 4.0, requested ad-ditional resources be applied to combat this “perfect storm” of events and return all of these systems to full operation. Robin May headed to Norfolk to replace Rickett along with Rich Porter as an additional SME. David Wagers and Rod Knapp remained on call throughout the week end and pro-vided support from the VTC Help Desk as it was needed.

Issues which needed immediate resolution included access to spaces, availability of cleared personnel to man equipment and test, as well as the availability of the testing equipment. SMEs for the various equipment and spaces were vital for the in-depth troubleshooting and successful testing necessary to assure deployment readiness of the video com-munications capability of each of these ships.

White, onboard Vinson at sea, corrected their casualty while underway to Haiti and then continued to provide sup-port and training while awaiting departure. Working with the VTC Help Desk via phone calls and e-mails, she also corrected a VTC problem on USS Cape St. George (CG-71).

Rickett was able to correct the problems onboard Gun-ston Hall prior to departing Norfolk. Next in line were San Jacinto and Nassau; with Porter and May onboard the ships and in contact with White, Rickett, Bates and the VTC Help Desk, all of their problems were resolved and satisfactorily tested by Sunday evening.

While all of this was going on, personnel from Com-

mander, U.S. Second Fleet’s (COMSECONDFLT) mari-time operations center (MOC) requested assistance with a problem of their own. Porter met with their VTC personnel on Monday morning and was able to correct their problems before heading back to Charleston on Tuesday.

Throughout the weekend, Bates made calls and sent numerous e-mails to request and coordinate essential per-sonnel, equipment and funding to assist the SPAWAR Tiger Team in their technical efforts. This included multiple ship comms officers, EMOs and ITCs as well as personnel from the following commands:

(1) SSC Atlantic – Norfolk Fleet and Customer Support (Cmdr. Russell Eric Legear, 4.0; Tom Trueblood and Linda Reynolds, 4.1; Bob Herzing, 4.2 and Cmdr. Timothy B. Rafferty, 54425) and Charleston (Ian Russell, Tactical Net-works, 53460, and Will Timmons, Crypto Modernization, Installation and Integration, 582P0).

(2) Norfolk Ship Support Activity (Ken Ellard)(3) PMW 160, Tactical Networks Program Office (Brian

Miller, CCE APM; Tom Chaudoin, SAIC ADNS Lead and Kayur Shah, SSC Pacific 4131ADNS ISEA)

(4) NCTAMS Atlantic HQ (Donald Owens, N3; Rich Garza, CTR, CEM Router SME DET Hampton Roads and Kenneth Royals, DOIC for NH95 Joint Staff College NATO Base)

(5) COMNAVSURFLANT (Lt. Marilyn Wilkinson, CRO FORCE EMO, N43/6D4)

(6) NNSY Code 218.1 (Robert Gagnow, Alan Morrison and Leonard “Ski” Yesalusky)

With Bates coordinating activities on the various ships in Norfolk with the FSO providing detailed status updates to SSC Atlantic 4.0 and 4.1 to keep both NNWC and SPAWAR headquarters informed of progress throughout the weekend, the SPAWAR Tiger Team corrected complex JWICS VTC casualties aboard USS Carl Vinson, USS Nassau, USS Gunston Hall and USS San Jacinto and also at COMSEC-ONDFLT MOC.

No two repairs were alike, and none were simple. All of these repairs were satisfactorily accomplished on short notice over the holiday weekend and supported the emergent deployments to aid the Haiti relief effort.

- Bob Fleming, Code 5832

SPAWARriors provideVTC support to Haiti-bound ships

USS Gunston Hall is on station near the Killick Haitian Coast Guard Base after a tech assist from SSC Atlantic’s Gayle Rickett.

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Stratton


Think before you push ‘send’As government employ-

ees and members of the armed forces, SPAWARriors have access to government computers, networks and e-mail in order to carry out their official duties in sup-port of the warfighter.

With this access also comes a responsibility. SPAWARriors are expected to refrain from using fed-eral government information technology resources for activities that are inappro-priate.

Recent events indicate misuse of personal e-mail on government IT systems. In-appropriate e-mail messages -- those containing chain letters, jokes, offensive con-tent and sexually explicit content -- have no place on government IT resources. In addition to being unprofes-sional and inappropriate, these types of files often contain computer viruses which can destroy data, give hackers unauthorized access to sensitive information, and disrupt e-mail, computer operations and other critical operations.

Offensive and inappro-priate content in messages have the potential to damage employee relationships and lead to adverse personnel actions or even legal action. For example, a political joke may seem harmless to you, but it can be considered a serious Hatch Act violation. When forwarded, these messages can invite high-profile media attention, damaging SSC Atlantic’s reputation.

Security software used by the SSC Atlantic prevents many inappropriate messages from entering the system, but network administrators cannot rely solely on this software. Employees can help by avoiding e-mails with chain letters, jokes, and/or pictures.

Employees do not have a right to use government resources for personal purposes, and it is inap-propriate because doing so conveys a government interest that is reserved for government business. Also, employees do not have a right, nor should they have an expection, of privacy while using government IT resources, including accessing the Internet or using e-mail. By using government IT resources, employees con-sent to disclosing the con-tents of any files or infor-mation maintained on their systems. In addition to access by the Department of Defense or Department of the Navy, data main-tained on government IT resources may be subject toa lawsuit discovery and/or Freedom of Information Act requests. Employees should ensure their private activities remain private by avoiding use of govern-ment IT resources such as their computer, the Internet or using e-mail for such matters.

Unauthorized or improper use of government comput-ers can result in loss of use or limitations on the use of the information technology resources, disciplinary or adverse actions, termination or criminal penalties.

If you are unsure whether certain personal use of SSC Atlantic computing is appropriate from an ethics point of view, contact the SSC Atlantic Office of Counsel at (843) 218-4029. For questions of an operations security (OPSEC) nature, call Lane Melton, SSC Atlantic OPSEC Manager, at (843) 218-3638.

Examples of inappropriate e-mail usage

Inappropriate useThe following are examples of inappropriate use of gov-

ernment computer resources and are prohibited. • Accessing content that promotes hate language, ha-

rassments or threats, or ridicules others on the basis of race, creed, religion, sex, disability, nationality or sexual orientation.

• Creating, downloading, viewing, storing, copying or transmitting sexually oriented or sexually explicit material (e.g., pornography, child pornography).

• Gambling. • Working for commercial purposes or supporting for-

profit organizations that are outside the scope of your SSC Atlantic appointment.

• Suggesting or implying that commercial products or services have been, are, or will be endorsed by SSC Atlantic.

• Misleading someone into believing you are acting in an official capacity.

• Hosting services (such as Web sites) that are not of general interest to SSC Atlantic.

• Using prohibited peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing ser-vices.

• Creating and/or forwarding of chain letters and unre-quested bulk e-mail (SPAM).

• Downloading, copying, and/or playing computer video games.

• Engaging in any outside fund-raising activity, endors-ing any product or service, participating in any lob-bying activity, or engaging in any prohibited partisan political activity.

• Using computer resources for private gain; e.g., selling commerical products like Avon, etc.


By Lt. Cmdr. Tom MackScientists to Sea (STS) is a great opportunity for New

Professionals (NPs) to get onboard a Navy ship during an underway period. STS gives NPs insights into what ship-board life and operations are really like, and it gives them opportunity to experience the shipboard environment up close, underway and personal.

NPs will come back from an STS embark with a much better understanding and appreciation of the limitations and requirements placed on the shipboard warfighters who are SSC Atlantic’s customers.

Five SSC Atlantic employees -- Vinh Doan (55130), Nicholas Lumsden (58410), Andrew Miller (54570), Mitesh Patel (55220), Ted Seabolt (55210) -- got underway on guided missile destroyer USS McFaul from Charleston, S.C., to Norfolk, Va., Oct. 18 through 22 and offer their impressions and experiences:

“STS was a great experience. We were brought around to almost every part of the ship to see how everything worked. My favorite part was the sonar radar. The crew tested fueling at sea, launch-ing torpedoes, helo landings and several other exercises. We were lucky because the ship is getting ready for deployment so we got to see a lot of cool things. The crew was very courteous and willing to demonstrate how their specific navigation or communication systems work. Overall it was a great ex-perience and I understand more about who I am supporting on a day-to-day basis.” - Ted Seabolt

“The Scientists to Sea program was an extremely valuable and educational experience for me. Having never been on a Navy ship at sea, there was much for me to learn. I was exposed to the modern (and not so modern) technical capa-bilities of DDG ships, including the navigational systems, communication systems and weapons systems. In addition to having the chance to observe some pretty neat exercises such as watching an unrep (underway replenishment), helo landing exercises, handgun quals, practice torpedo launching and combat maneuvers, I also learned of daily Navy routines and the protocol for carrying out these routines.

“The most valuable knowledge I feel I gained from this underway was the interaction between crewmembers, includ-ing communication between rates and ranks, the decision-making process and execution of tasks down the ship’s chain

of command. Every member of the crew that I met during the underway was especially helpful and eager to share all the information they could which helped me get the most out of the Scientists to Sea experience.” - Nicholas Lumsden

“I thought the Scientists to Sea program was great! Being able to travel and visit another location was fun. Being on the ship itself enlightened me on how difficult it is to live and work on a ship and keep it running 24 hours a day. The entire crew has to work together to get tasks done and follow

orders without hesitation. “I was surprised by the fact that I con-

stantly did not know what side of the ship I was on most of the time without having to think about it and read compartment numbers. Being able to steer the ship made me realize that it is not as easy as simply turning the wheel and holding it in place. The ship’s course is affected by various factors so the ship had to be constantly monitored to stay on course.

“Observing multiple helicopter land-ings made me realize how small the flight deck is and how hard it is for a helicopter to land at night. I would most definitely go again if I had the chance.” - Andrew Miller

“Scientists to Sea gave me an amaz-ing opportunity to experience what life is like on a Navy ship. From the first day on board everyone was really nice to us, and made sure we knew what we had to

do. We were able to see an unrep, helicopter ops and even steer the ship. Living on the sea for a few days with the crew really gave me an appreciation for what the warfighter does for us every day. I learned a lot about how the Navy operates, the systems that they use on board, and the exercises that they have to do while underway.” - Vinh Doan

“STS was a great experience because we were able to experience the Sailor’s daily life. The Sailors on the ship were ready to answer any questions we had and provide us with any help while on the ship. This helped me have a better understanding of how the Navy works and how it strives to be efficient in all matters. The captain of USS McFaul allowed us full access to the ship and allowed us to participate and view some of the training exercises while at sea.” - Mitesh Patel

Underways for Scientists to Sea are held once a quarter.NPs will be notified via e-mail of future opportunities.

Scientists to SeaSPAWARriors see how the warfighter lives

USS McFaul arrives in Souda har-bor, Crete, for a port visit in 2008.

U.S. Navy photo by Paul Farley


The Crypto Mod Integration & Installation Project Team of Code 582P0 recently was as-sessed by the SPAWAR Engineering Project Office as meeting the best practices for Capabil-ity Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Levels 2 and 3 under SPAWAR’s Self Assessment Program.

The achievement is the result of more than three years of hard work developing 15 Project Process Plans and hundreds of hours collect-ing more than 5,000 artifacts meeting CMMI criteria for process integration and product improvement.

This effort is testament to the dedication of the entire Crypto Mod Integration and Instal-lation Team in meeting the rigorous standards for CMMI compliance and the commitment of Code 582P0 to continuously improve crypto products for its customers.

The Crypto Mod Integration and Installation team is responsible for integrating the KIV-7M cryptograph-ic device under PMW 160’s Crypto Modernization Program, into hundreds of fleet ships and numerous shore sites.

Crypto Mod I & Iteam meets CMMI levels 2, 3

The current plan is to install approximately 5000 KIV-7Ms and accompanying auxiliary equipment in CONUS and OCONUS through 2012.

By Beth Meloy, Enterprise Process Office (EPO)The commanding officers of SSCs Pacific and Atlantic

have signed a joint SSC Reviews Policy Notice, designated SPAWARSYSCENLANTNOTE 5400 and SPAWARSYS-CENPACNOTE 5400 of 3 December 2009, which establish-es and implements a single review process for all programs, projects and tasks and standardizes subject reviews at the respective centers.

Reviews are critical to SPAWAR’s success because they measure progress, reduce risks and provide visibility into project status and risk.

The notice is a product of the Reviews IPT (REV-IPT), a group established in June composed of members from SSCs Pacific and Atlantic. The REV-IPT’s mission is to champion the ongoing development and adoption of reviews policies, processes, procedures and process assets. Bruce Carter, SSC Atlantic Director of Engineering Operations and Code 50D CHENG, is the chairperson of the REV-IPT.

This notice specifies:(a) Reviews shall be conducted for all programs, projects

and tasks, regardless of size.

(b) ACAT programs/projects shall implement the SETR standard process provided in SPAWARINST 5400.3 - SYS-TEMS ENGINEERING TECHNICAL REVIEW PROCESS

(c) Non-ACAT programs/projects/tasks shall implement standard review types, processes, procedures and checklists to be developed jointly by SSCs Pacific and Atlantic.

(d) Project management reviews (PMRs), process reviews and product reviews (also known as technical reviews) shall be conducted (in addition to other contractual or milestone reviews).

(e) Departments shall report to the Command Chief Engineer of SSCs Pacific or Atlantic on a quarterly basis. Departments shall report on variances between planned and actual results and provide recommended corrective actions, if necessary.

The full notice has been posted on CnE in the Library under Instructions at https://cne.spawar.navy.mil/portal/page/portal/CNE_CORP_INFO_2/CHS_CI_COMMAND_INSTRUCTIONS/CHS_CI_COMMAND_INSTRUC-TIONS_5000-5999/SSC%20ATLANTIC%205400.pdf.

SSC Pacific, SSC Atlantic sign joint reviews instruction


From left, back row, Tony Ball, crypto technician; Steve Welsh, crypto lab supervisor; Tom Chilton, CM I&I project lead; Ryan Longshore, crypto engineer; Richard Dodd, branch head; Alan Garner, contractor, Parker SCItech Group; front row, Jamese Simmons, crypto engineer; Will Timmons, integration lead; and Wanisha Bradley, contractor, SRA.Not pictured are Dominic McKelvey, crypto engineer; George Smith, crypto engineer; and Jim Amoriell, contractor, Parker SCItech Group.


By Krista ShiverSupporting the warfighter is our business. Therefore,

being the fastest and having the most efficient process is absolutely necessary. SSC Atlantic has approximately 1,300 government civilians and contractors currently deployed to specified mission destinations supporting the warfighter. They are assisting with Internet cafes, integrating and repair-ing armored vehicles, and providing other spe-cialized technical sup-port. To meet growing demands the command launched a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Rapid Im-provement Event (RIE) to standardize and re-duce waste throughout the process.

Continuous process improvement really does mean “continuous.” The first event was launched in 2005 by Michael Thomas, SSC Atlantic Deployment Champion Master Black Belt, along with subject matter experts in 50C. This event standardized the process and provided improve-ment suggestions for future events. Soon after the change in command, the need for specified mission deployees created a burning platform and the command launched a second RIE in December 2008 to develop one standardized command process.

This event was lead by Krista Shiver, as the Black Belt, and Lt. Cmdr. Jim Hadley as the Green Belt and consisted of numerous subject matter experts (SMEs) throughout the command. During the three-day RIE the team was faced with constraints.

• Lack of standardized processes across the command• Multiple reviews• Large package variance• Long process throughput timesBy February 2009, the team was able to develop and

implement one command process, one package type, reduce package contents by 40 percent, reduce the chop chain by 20 percent, and identify leads in each department to increase

communication across the command. The command also identified a Hostile Area Liaison, Jane Dingus and estab-lished a Hostile Area SME Council. This event has a valid Type II savings of approximately $200,000 per year.

Still, the process could be improved! For a third event the team assembled with key SMEs and

launched a three-day RIE in September 2009. The team out briefed leadership in Oc-tober and received ap-proval to move forward with improvements. The team implemented more improvements that were fully operable by De-cember with the follow-ing benefits:

• Reduced SSC At-lantic’s processes by 42 percent

• Reduced package content by 70 percent

• Reduced prepara-tion of forms by 20 per-cent

• Reduced chop chain and reviews by 50 percent

• Eliminated additional labor hours and materials• Reduced collection of Personally Identifiably Informa-

tion (PII)One of the biggest changes was to centralize the specified

mission destination process. The new process will reside within 80. Contracting companies will submit completed packages and government civilians will process through to deploy. Jane Dingus, Command Specified Mission Destina-tion Lead, and Antoinette Montgomery, Command Specified Mission Destination Deployment Coordinator, were critical to the effort and provided support to implement the changes.

Through continuous process improvement/Lean Six Sigma, the command was able to provide an efficient and fast process. This event has been so successful it will be presented for possible replication across the DoD.

For more detailed information on the new improved pro-cess, contact Antoinette Montgomery, Command Specified Mission Destination Deployment Coordinator ([email protected]), (843) 218-6559.

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The New Orleans Office team has emerged as a recognized premiere provider of IT systems, solutions and business enterprise services under the SSC Atlantic banner.

SSC Atlantic teamContinued from page 33keeps everyone focused on the need to keep people trained in LSS, participating in LSS projects and ensuring trained LSS Black Belts and Green Belts are certified so that they can guide projects to completion, especially those that pro-duce the highest return,” said Milton Frank, the Corporate Strategy lead and manager of process improvement efforts in New Orleans.

There has been active engagement in the Atlantic Integra-tion Team Command Policy, Process, Procedures, Practices and Instructions (AIT P4I), which has been an integral part of the SSC Atlantic integration initiative. Besides the high-level process map, the group’s efforts have resulted in the identification, consolidation and deployment of standard, best-practice policies/ instructions and processes/procedures across SSC Atlantic.

Though the group’s work is far from complete, there have been plenty of successes to date, including common ground and variants necessary to meet business and engineering re-quirements at the different SSC Atlantic offices.” Each com-ponent has different requirements based on unique business lines and customer set,” said Frank. “Acknowledging this has enabled us to move forward as a team while preserving our regional process requirements where they make sense.”

Integration of the SSC Atlantic Strategic and Business Planning competency and the BSC has been very smooth, with strategic management professionals from the three former commands as charter members of the SPAWAR Stra-tegic Management Functional Change Lead group, which later morphed into the Strategic Management Community of Practice.

This BSC best practice continues to unite the SSC Atlantic offices, and now, through cascaded scorecards for the various business pillars and competency codes, all managers can gain insight into the drivers of success as well as the areas that

need improvements, whether at the regional, competency or enterprise level.

The challenge now is to leverage our blended Strategic and Business Planning competency resources and tools such as BSC to find better ways to align the total workforce to strategy and vision for improved performance.

Another method of aligning our combined workforces is through communications. Through CnE, The Chronicle, Chronicle Lite, and other communication channels, the SSC Atlantic is recognizing and publicizing both individual and collective accomplishments. We are also using these tools to add transparency to our ongoing efforts to integrate SSC Atlantic.

Better visibility of the unique contributions of each ele-ment of SSC Atlantic is the big success story from the Public Affairs competency, said Lt. Chris Galliano, Corporate Operations lead for New Orleans. “We have brought better standardization to our communications products, which helps to ensure we speak with a single voice.” In summary

SSC Atlantic has seen significant progress and challenges since the Oct. 1, 2009 standup. In Galliano’s words, “We are actively engaged with our counterparts throughout the rest of SSC Atlantic. We have gotten so many things accomplished in the past 18 months, and we’re working much more ef-ficiently across many areas. What seemed a challenge at first — working in long-distance relationships — has really not been a challenge at all. Our Corporate Operations com-petencies are efficiently managed, and I think we’ve come a long way in a short time in helping achieve the vision of being clearly recognized as an essential and trusted partner to deliver efficient, effective, value-added services aligned across the command.”

The SSC Atlantic team is in fact more united than ever.- Sharon Anderson of SSC Atlantic Tidewater Office and Deborah Gonzales of SSC Atlantic New Orleans Office

contributed to this article



SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon congratulates David Bednarczyk of Code 553M3 while presenting the SPAWAR Light-ning Bolt award to the USS Hart-ford Critical and Urgent Response Efforts (CURE) Action Team. Team members also pictured are, from left, James Hucks, Code 5531; Scott Bu-chheit, VT Milcom; Jalon Jackson, Code 5531; Eric Ramsey, Stanley Associates; David Parker, Predicate Logic; Joseph Forbes, Code 5523; and Olli Wendelin, Code 5531. The award was presented during a recent SPAWARSYSCOM All Hands. Other USS Hartford CURE Action team members not pictured are Dr. Francis

CURE team earnsLightning Bolt award

SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon, second from right, congratulates, from left, Charlie Adams, Stacy McClain, Elizabeth Snider and Donna Bedford as they are pre-sented Balanced Score Card (BSC) Most Valued Performer awards during a recent All Hands gathering. The quartet was praised for the contribution of the 5.5 local competency BSC to SSC Atlantic and Team SPAWAR strategic ob-jectives through exemplary resource utilization, communication and initiative management.

Chan, Dr. Jerry Exley, Mike Gozzo, Don Portofee and Stanley Stefanowicz of the Naval Undersea Warfare Cen-ter; and Rodger Yoder of Centurum, Inc. The team was praised for its success in rapidly capturing require-

ments, developing technical solutions, integrating, testing, packaging and deploying a secure, state-of-the-art commercial SATCOM solution in an extremely austere location.

SPAWAR Reservist Perez earns SOQ

BSC MVPs awarded

SSC Atlantic Common Submarine Radio Room Production Test and Lab Manager Tom Perez serves SPAWAR as a civilian employee and as a Reservist in Reserve Unit SPAWAR 407. His latter service earned him the designation of Reserve Sailor of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2009. On hand to help congratulate Perez, center, was Cmdr. (Sel) Chuck Kramer, left, executive officer of the Reserve unit, and Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Meyers, right, Navy Reserve Unit SPAWAR 407 administrative officer. Meyers also serves doubly at SSC Atlantic as a Reservist and as a civilian safety engineer. Kramer recently returned from a year in Afghanistan after being recalled to active duty.

HonorsHonors


Members of the SSC Atlantic MWR Internet Cafe Program received Lightning Bolt Awards for the third quarter of 2009 during a recent All Hands gathering. Ac-cepting via videoteleconference from Stuttgart, Germany

was Mike Hartman, Projects Group Lead and Program Manager for MWR Internet Cafés C4ISR Information Systems Branch (Code 55810).

Receiving awards were:

Internet cafe team receives Lightning Bolts

Jerard Adams Jim Alvarez David Arndt Hamlet Arutyunov Kenneth Ayers Vincent Barbera Dean Barsaleau Christopher Bienlein Roy Blankenship Robert Bower Jim Bowers Greg Brandsted Kent Brandsted Franklin Brown James Bryant Justin Burtosky William Bye Gene Carter Louis Castellanos Ronald Christian Jim Clarkson Carmelo Crespo Chris Curtis Marlon Daniels Michael Davis Daniel Demuri Jamie Dominquez

Andy Ellis Theodore Ellis Abraham Faust Andrew Fisher Clyde Fisher Aaron Fortson Lisa German James Guest Franklin Hardy James Hart Michael HartmanMichella Hensley

Gary Hutchinson Jay Iannacito Jeremy Johnson Phillip Johnson Gerald Jones Timothy Kimes Chris Knapp

Michael Knight Andrew Lange Anthony Lauderdale Christopher LeLacheur Lawrence Lim Randy Llewellyn James Luther Josh Magee Ragan McBride Lamar McClellan Lawrence McClellan Darin McCloy

Gary Moore David Nelson Alan Nielsen Eric Olsen John Osborne Paul Parker Sherman Pope

Patrick Radish Mike Ramos Charles Reynolds Brian Schneider William Shirk Tom Siple Wayne Spencer Mike Stone James Terwilliger Ron Thomas Kevin Thompson

Staci Trammell Mark Tuell Stella Tuten Feliciano Ulloa Herbert Van DornJulian Walker Jason Wilson

Publish It! Program Tell your stories of success

Many SSC Atlantic employees are working on new or enhanced technologies or designing creative solutions to complex business processes.

The Publish It! Program (PIP) can help get the word out about these success stories. PIP helps showcase the command’s best and brightest in technical and trade publications as well as at conferences and in other profes-sional venues.

The publishing of papers in academic and professional journals is the most common way professionals formally communicate their current thinking on innovative ideas.

PIP offers command experts who can help with document authoring, editing, consulta-

tion, visual design and graphics assistance, public affairs approvals and legal disclosures.

The Publish It! Program is aligned under the Science and Technology Group (STG) to leverage the infrastructure already in place with the Innovation Program. Bob Miller, is the command lead and can be reached at (843) 218-4898 or by e-mail at [email protected].

More information on the program is available on CnE at https://cne.spawar.navy.mil/pls/portal/url/page/CHS_PROG_PUB-LISH_IT. For more information or assistance with a story or story idea, call Miller or Dr. Shayna Johnson at (843) 218-6110.


Ever wonder why The Chronicle refers to SSC Atlantic’s commanding officer as Capt. Bruce Urbon, not CAPT Bruce Urbon? Why California is Calif., not CA? Why October can sometimes be abbreviated but July cannot?

The answers to these and other questions reside in The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook, style and usage guide used by newspapers and in the news industry in the United States that includes an A-to-Z listing of guides to capitaliza-tion, abbreviation, spelling, numerals and usage.

The Stylebook is a fixture in newsrooms around the world, as well as in journalism classes, public relations agencies, newsletter production houses and “wherever else people write about daily events, public affairs and other matters of public interest,” AP Executive News Editor Lou Boc-cardi noted in the forward of the most recent edition of the Stylebook. The Stylebook is also the reference book used for The Chronicle.

It’s a matter of (aP) styleThe Navy has also adopted the Stylebook’s recommenda-

tions for its publications, and supplements them with terms such as homeport (not home port) or Sailor (not sailor).

Part of the Stylebook’s mission is to sort out right from wrong. For instance, it explains the difference between its and it’s, or what makes a burglary different from a robbery.

In other cases, its purpose is to prescribe choices that will make it easier for writer and reader to meet. “Behind it all is a simple believe in accuracy, clarity and consistency,” Boccardi said.

So if a writer submits a story that begins, “CAPT Urbon gave the sailor 2 awards Jul 2nd at eight o’clock because its to hot in the p.m.,” in The Chronicle it will read, “Capt. Bruce Urbon gave the Sailor two awards July 2 at 8 a.m. because it’s too hot in the afternoon.”

Many employees aren’t aware that SSC Atlantic has two offi-cial employee newsletters – The Chronicle and Chronicle Lite – and that each one has a different editor. While both publications focus on providing relevant in-formation to center employees around the world, there are dif-ferences in content, design and frequency.

The Chronicle, available quarterly, has been published for 16 years, and Susan Piedfort is the editor. Copies are distributed to center employees and mailed to customers and retirees (on request); issues are also available on CnE and SSC Atlantic’s public Web site. The Chronicle has a glossy cover and a magazine format. The number of pages in each issue ranges from 40 to 52, and the newsletter includes both short and in-depth articles on SSC Atlantic people, projects and accomplishments. It is more technical in nature than Chronicle Lite.

Chronicle Lite was established in late 2007 as a monthly newslet-ter, and Diane Owens is the editor. A fixed number of issues is distributed to SSC Atlantic sites around the world and placed in common areas for government and contractor em-ployees to pick up; issues are also available on CnE. Chronicle Lite presents bottom-line information employees need to know in a non-

technical way; in other words, articles are generally short and simple. The newsletter began with four pages, and is currently six pages long.

Although different articles appear in each publication, some-times the same story is covered in both – from a different angle, or with more or less details. Com-mand Photographer Joe Bullinger

takes photos for both newsletters.Submission deadlines for Chronicle Lite are the 15th

of the month prior to publication (for example, April 15 for the May issue). Deadlines for The Chronicle are March 29 (Spring), June 1 (Summer), Aug. 15 (Fall) and Jan. 15 (Winter). Employees are encouraged to submit articles.

Both editors strive to create an awareness and apprecia-tion of the command’s contribution to the defense of the nation and the accomplishments of the SSC Atlantic team. All SSC Atlantic sites are included, so please contact them

with news and story ideas. They’ll be glad to write articles and arrange for photos – all it takes is an e-mail or a phone call to Diane Owens, Chronicle Lite editor, [email protected], (843) 218-5888 or Susan Piedfort, Chronicle editor, [email protected], (843) 218-4973.

- Diane OwensChronicle Lite Editor

The Chronicle or Chronicle Lite?

PiedfortOwens


Photo by Susan Piedfort


Joint Base Charleston Commander Col. Martha Meeker, USAF, right, poses with SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Ur-bon, center, and Lt. Col. Kevin Riley, USAF, as Meeker got her first look at MRAP All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs) recently. After receiving an SSC Atlantic command overview from Ur-bon, Meeker took a windshield tour of various SSC Atlantic sites in Charleston, culminating with a tour of the MRAP integration facility. Meeker assumed command of the newly acti-vated 628th Air Base Wing at Charleston Air Force Base Jan. 8, a precursor to the stand up of Joint Base Charleston Jan. 31. Joint Base Charleston merges Charleston Air Force Base with Naval Weapons Station Charleston, as directed by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure commission.

Westview Elementary School’s First Lego League poses with their SSC Atlantic hosts in the atrium of Bldg. 3147. The kids visited SSC Atlantic Jan. 26 to give a brief on their research project involving transportation. The brief was part of the FIRST Lego competition that also has students pitting their Lego robots against those of other school children in lo-cal, state and national competitions. While at SSC Atlantic the West-view Whales also toured the Integrated Products Center.

Meeker views SSC Atlantic ops

WestviewElementarystudents visit

VisitorsVisitors


There are many opportunities for SSC Atlantic employees to tell our story, both officially and unofficially.

Every time we tell friends, neigh-bors and family about what we do at work, we are telling our command’s story. Do our friends, family and neigh-bors know how SSC Atlantic helps ensure American warfighters get what they need, when they need it?

You can help share your SSC Atlantic suc-cess story by submitting it to The Chronicle. To discuss a story idea or for assistance writing an article, call (843) 218-4973 or DSN 588-4973.

The Chronicle is published quarterly and articles

are accepted at any time. Articles of any length will be considered, but those with 300 to 500 words

are preferred. Photos or illustrations should be sent as separate files, rather than embedded in

a document. Send your articles by e-mail to [email protected] or U.S. mail to The

Chronicle Editor, Code 85100, P.O. Box 190022, North Charleston, SC, 29419-

9022.A full color version of The Chronicle

is posted on the Internet at http://sscc.spawar.navy.mil, and on the Col-

laboration and Execution Web site under “Command Information, then “Newsletters.”

Tell your SSC Atlantic story in The Chronicle

What are future leaders reading? Photo by Joe Bullinger

The Chronicle, of course! These members of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Charleston group made good use of their free time at SSC Atlantic’s conference center by reading The Chronicle. Leadership Charleston is a year-long program for profes-sionals offering an intensive and up-close look at vari-ous sectors of the community. Participants explore and

analyze issues that impact the region while focusing on fundamental leadership principles. During their visit to SSC Atlantic in December the group was welcomed by Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon and briefed on SSC Atlantic initiatives by Cmdr. Jim Hadley and Mike Shafer before touring the Integrated Products Center.

The Final WordThe Final Word


We are now soliciting photography submissions from SSC Atlantic employees for next issue’s contest.

The Employee Services Association will offer the winner a choice of a command coin, thermal mug, cookbook (if available) or $5 credit on another logo item.

MWR will offer a certificate for a free lunch in the Cooper River Cafe to the winner. Send your best shot to [email protected] or [email protected].

Send in your best shot

And the winner is...

Thank you to all who submitted photos for the SSC Atlantic Chronicle photo contest.

Your submissions will be kept on file for future use.


Mike Peebles, Code 537KO, and SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon pose at the Geographic South Pole during the captain’s recent

Antarctica visit. See story on page 4.

spring 2010 the chronicle 1 - united states navy · war college draw high praise from navy leaders....

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