Month: September 2023

Source: United States Navy

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the inaugural meeting of the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board!

In a few minutes, I will be swearing in our board members, officially welcoming them as our Department’s newest force-multipliers.

But before I do so, I’d like to share with you — and the members of the public who are joining us today virtually — how this board came about, why its work will be so important to the future of our Navy and Marine Corps, and my expectations for the board.

The vision for this board in its current structure and mission is only a year old, although it can trace its lineage back throughout our Department’s history to prior science and technology advisory boards.

And it was about a year ago that, in a conversation with this board’s first chairman — my friend, mentor, and former boss — the 71^st Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Richard Danzig, that I recognized our Department’s need to increase our capacity in terms of thought leadership in the science and technology realm.

It was during this conversation that I also realized Secretary Danzig was the right person to lead this board, not just because of his extensive leadership experience or familiarity with our Navy and Marine Corps, but because of his passion for ensuring our Sailors and Marines had access to technologies and capabilities at the leading edge to ensure they would always be successful in their assigned missions.

But I’m not the only one who thought Secretary Danzig was the right choice to lead this new board — ChatGPT, with the help of some well-written prompts by Director Jim Baker of Office of Net Assessment, came to the same conclusion. 

To quote ChatGPT — “Overall, Richard Danzig’s extensive experience in national security, defense policy, and the Navy, combined with his knowledge of technology and innovation, make him a valuable candidate to lead the Science and Technology Advisory Board.”

I highlight this exchange between Director Baker and ChatGPT as an example of the new technological era our Nation now finds itself in — an era brought about in part by the technologies and capabilities that our Department of the Navy financed.

What many of you joining us today might not know is that our Office of Naval Research, for decades, has funded the development of the large language models that are now used for training artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.

And today, we find ourselves watching this technology mature in ways few fathomed possible back when those first investments were made.

But what does all of this mean for our Navy and Marine Corps — our Sailors and Marines — in terms of how they will fight in future conflicts?

That question is why we are here today — and why each of you were invited to join our Department as members of this board.

This board is indeed unlike any Navy science and technology board of the past — both in terms of the challenges presented for consideration as well as the makeup of the board itself.

The strength of this board rests in your diversity — diversity of disciplines of expertise and studies, of professional backgrounds and networks, and diversity in your unique personal experiences as citizens of our great nation.

This board brings together leaders and experts from across the government, the military, academia, industry, and America’s vast science and technology ecosystem.

You are retired career military officers, professors, engineers, published authors, company directors and executives, technologists, venture capitalists, and consultants.

You are passionate about a wide array of topics, spanning artificial intelligence and machine learning, data science, biology and chemistry, cybersecurity, space, marine engineering and safety, additive manufacturing, and the impacts that the advances in your respective fields will have on humanity.

But what’s most important to me — to our Department — is that by taking this oath today, you are demonstrating your commitment to ensuring our Sailors and Marines strengthen their competitive warfighting advantages, that they remain safe, and, above all else, that they return home to their families.

With all of that in mind, I am charging you, as thought leaders in your respective disciplines, to explore the cutting edge technologies our Department is aware of and involved in — as well as the technologies we are not involved in — and conduct thorough assessments as to how they will impact both the near and distant futures of warfighting in all domains we operate in — at, above, and below the ocean’s surface, ashore, as well as space and cyberspace.

I ask that you take into account the asymmetric nature of these technologies, and how their adoption can provide us with unique advantages as we work not only to deter conflict, but to promote peace and stability around the globe.

Our Department is faced with a unique set of challenges given our charge to operate across multiple domains, and we are looking to you to inject fresh perspectives in addressing those challenges.

As you conduct your business, I do not expect you to work in a vacuum and rely solely on one another.

I am empowering you to collaborate with other advisory boards across the Department of Defense — and our entire federal government — for it is my belief that the exploration and adoption of new and innovative technologies that this board advises on should not be confined to our Department.

Also, I ask that you leverage this board’s Designated Federal Officer, Ms. Maria Proestou, and her team to connect you with the appropriate resources throughout the Department of the Navy that you may need access to over the course of your tenure.

We are invested in ensuring this board is able to conduct its work in a thorough, deliberate, and expedient manner.  Do not hesitate to ask for what you need.

As we transition to the swearing-in, I will leave you with a final thought.

The science of today is the technology of the future, and that technology has the potential to be of incredible benefit to our Fleet, our Force, and to our Nation.  We need you, our board members, to provide us with vision and guidance to reach the end-states our warfighters need.

Again, I am humbled by your acceptance to join our Department on this journey in re-imagining our approach to how we identify, research, develop, test, and field new technologies, and I am grateful to each of you for donating your time and expertise for the betterment of the lives of our Sailors, Marines, civilians, and their families around the globe.

Thank you.

Source: United States Navy

What a terrific week this has been. The United States Navy is truly honored to have been able to host you here in Newport, and it was a great privilege for me personally to have spent the last few days with you. It’s been wonderful to see the extraordinary variety of uniforms, languages, cultures all gathered here together.
 
And I’ve really been delighted by the rich exchange of views, ideas, and perspectives that we’ve heard throughout our discussions. Over the course of the week, I’ve noticed that the breaks have gotten just a little bit longer, and that the volume has gotten a little bit louder of all our conversations. To me, that is a sign that the symposium is going very well, and that we’re building our relationships and strengthening the bonds of friendship. I’m very grateful for the time we’ve enjoyed together, so please allow me to thank you again for being here and for your engagement this week.
 
And let me again recognize our spouses for your presence and your contributions. ISS would simply not be the same without you here. To our panelists and our moderators, I’ve learned a lot from your presentations and our discussions over the past several days. So my thanks to you, both for the time and thought that you put into your remarks, and for taking on some of the most pressing issues that we all face. Fellow leaders, this symposium is one of the most important events our Navy does, and it’s so meaningful because all of you chose to invest your time and share your thoughts with one another.
 
So please let me also extend my thanks to your teams and your staffs for their support. I know how much work and effort goes into preparing for this symposium. As I look out in the audience and I’ve had a chance to interact with folks throughout the week, I see all of your assistance and your aids and all the supporting staff of the heads of navy and the coast guard. And I know that I’m looking at the leaders of the future, the admirals of tomorrow.

And I hope that when you all return to future iterations of ISS in 10, 20, or 30 years, when you’re the heads of your navy or your coast guard, I trust that you will continue to build on these vital partnerships you started here this week. And as you climb the ranks, I hope that you will keep a course at the Naval War College in mind. I can’t promise you that the Newport weather will be as great all the time as it’s been this week, but I can assure you that you will always have an invitation to come here and study and develop relationships with other rising naval leaders.
 
And I’ve seen throughout the week, the Naval War College is truly a lifetime global connector. So to Pete Garvin and the team here at the Naval War College, thank you for hosting yet another wonderful symposium. I’d like you to enjoy a wonderful weekend off, because you don’t need to start planning ISS 26 until Monday.
 
Let me also thank everyone else that has joined us from around the country to support ISS. My team from the OPNAV and Navy staff, our team of Naval Reservists, the interagency security teams here, local law enforcement, the interpreters, the musicians, all those who have prepared such excellent meals –especially the lobster last night – and so many others that have worked hard to support this symposium. You have my and our sincere thanks. How about a big round of applause to everyone that made this happen? Thank you so much.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, I view this week as just the beginning of a conversation between our maritime services, and it’s a conversation that I know will continue. After the first ISS, way back in 1969, I think it was probably a lot more difficult for delegates to stay in touch once they left Newport.
 
But it’s my understanding that just as ISS number one was taking place here in Newport, over on the other side of America, at the University of California at Los Angeles, the very first messages were being sent over what would eventually become the World Wide Web. Today, thanks to the internet, we have email, WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, Zoom, Skype, and many more. So in other words, we have many ways to keep these conversations going and no excuse not to stay in touch.
 
So I know that I look forward to hearing from you, I want to learn more from you, and I want to understand how the United States Navy can better partner with your maritime forces. ISS has brought us together, and now it’s up to us to leverage what we’ve learned. As we prepare to return to our home offices, we have important work to do – work that will make a real difference in the lives of our sailors, our families, and our world. We have opportunities to pursue, plans to formulate, commitments to uphold and, as I suggested yesterday, we have significant choices to make in addressing our overlapping challenges.
 
So, my parting message is this. Let’s build on the momentum and the bonds of friendship we have established here this week. Let’s move forward together. Let’s have the courage to have real conversations about tough, consequential issues and find solutions together. Let’s keep our faith in one another and let’s continue to earn one another’s trust. I am confident that in an interconnected world which is prone to systemic shocks, from pandemics, war, and a changing climate, our interdependence should be a source of stability, not of fragility.
 
Regional, transregional, and global maritime frameworks that are fit for purpose deliver strength and resilience. Every nation here is a vital link in the chain. Every navy and coast guard here makes a difference. A maritime partnership that is based on some key characteristics, collaboration and integration, inclusion, and the principles enshrined in international law will increase our collective prosperity and improve our collective security. And with such a partnership, I know that we will be stronger together.
 
I thank you all very much, and I look forward to seeing you around the world and at ISS number 26.

Thank you very much. And, again, thank you for being here.
 

Source: United States Navy

Good morning, everyone! It is wonderful to be with you all here at the Naval War College in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island for the 25^th International Seapower Symposium.

First and foremost, I would like to thank each and every one of you, your spouses, and your staffs for traveling from across the globe to be here with us this week.  We are truly humbled by your presence, and we feel fortunate that we are able to gather in-person in greater numbers again.

As Secretary of the Navy, I made enhancing strategic partnerships one of the three enduring priorities that guide our naval services in everything that we do. I can think of no event that offers a better opportunity to strengthen our bonds as maritime nations than the International Seapower Symposium.

I would also like to thank Rear Admiral Peter Garvin and the staff here at Naval War College for opening their doors to host us this week.  As the only Secretary of the Navy to be a graduate Naval War College and as a proud alum, I appreciate every opportunity to come back here to this beautiful campus.  And to those of you gathered with us today who are fellow alumni—welcome home!

Ambassador Kennedy, ma’am, it is wonderful to see you again. Thank you for traveling from Australia to be here with us, and for your continued leadership as one of our nation’s senior representatives in the Indo-Pacific region.

Finally, Admiral Franchetti, thank you for inviting me to participate in this year’s International Seapower Symposium—your first as the leader of our Navy.

I know several of you in the audience already have a relationship with Admiral Franchetti from her time as either the Sixth Fleet Commander and the Commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO in Europe, Commander of US Naval Forces Korea, the Director of Strategy, Plans, and Policy on the Joint Staff, or most recently as our Vice Chief of Naval Operations. 

This week is indeed an opportunity for you to continue to build your relationships with Admiral Franchetti, as well as with one another.  As maritime nations, it is imperative that we come together to address the common challenges that we collectively face.

As Admiral Franchetti stated moments ago, you have no more trusted friend than the United States Navy.  However, actions speak louder than words, and our Fleet is deployed around the world, working hard every day—through port visits, through exercises, through training exchanges, through leadership engagements at all levels—to earn your trust.

Allow me to highlight a few examples of how we have engaged with you since the beginning of this year, and how we are endeavoring to not only earn and reinforce your trust in us, but to promote unity and interoperability between our nations in every region around the globe.

In Africa, our Navy team is engaged every day with our partners to help combat a wide range of maritime challenges, ranging from piracy and illicit smuggling to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.  Exercises like Cutlass Express 2023 and Obangame Express 2023 provided our navies with an incredible opportunity to train alongside one another in addressing these issues, and I appreciated your feedback on the importance of these exercises when we gathered in Cabo Verde at the African Maritime Forces Summit back in March.

Beyond the maritime domain, we are actively supporting the Africa Malaria Task Force. At the task force’s meeting in July, members of the US Naval Forces Europe-Africa Surgeon General’s team joined over 70 representatives from 15 nations, non-governmental organizations, and non-profit organizations to discuss how we can better combat the health threat posed by this mosquito-borne parasite.

We are committed to working alongside you to improve the lives of millions of Africans affected by malaria across the continent, as we recognize that health security is a key component to national security.

However, many of these challenges are not unique to Africa.  In Central and South America, we are dedicated to working with our partners to address many of the same key issues—illicit maritime activity, including narcotics and human trafficking, as well as IUU fishing—that threaten our regional economic security.

During exercise UNITAS 64 in July, 20 nations from throughout the region gathered in Colombia to discuss those issues, and we increased our interoperability through training and rehearsing operations critical to enforcing security throughout our respective exclusive economic zones.

I was fortunate enough to attend the opening days of UNITAS, and witnessed first-hand the excitement and passion our Sailors had for the opportunity to sail alongside our partners and increase their own skills.

Above all, UNITAS allowed our Sailors to build rapport and trust amongst each other.

Trust, proficiency, and interoperability are core tenets of our partnerships as we work together to advance our common interests in the Western Hemisphere, maintaining the stability and security necessary for economic prosperity. 

UNITAS also allowed us to showcase how unmanned systems, operating at, above, and below the sea, are force multipliers in the practice of maritime domain awareness.  Our team at US Fourth Fleet, led by Rear Admiral James Aiken, will continue to work with our partners across Central and South America to see how we can best integrate these unmanned platforms into our respective fleets, allowing us to know who is operating in our shared waters and what their intent is.

This effort builds upon the successes we have realized in the Middle East through US Fifth Fleet’s unmanned effort—Task Force 59—led by Vice Admiral Brad Cooper.

With the support of many of you, we have been able to field a hybrid fleet across the Middle East region, from the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea.

Just as in the Caribbean, we envision unmanned systems supporting us, our allies, and our partners throughout the region in our commitment to ensuring the free flow or maritime commerce—even as other nations endeavor to hinder it. 

Through the Combined Maritime Forces—a 38-nation multi-national partnership—we are working together to promote security, stability, and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, which encompass some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.

As recent events have shown, Iran is willing to take actions that run counter to these ideals of stability and prosperity we are working together to promote. Through their harassment and seizure of merchant ships in international waters, Iran is disrupting the free flow of trade throughout the Middle East, negatively impacting our global economy.

Last month, we deployed over 3,000 Sailors and Marines to the region as part of a larger effort to deter —and if called upon, respond to—future acts of aggression against commercial shipping by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz.

We are committed to keeping these vital sea lanes of communication open so that we remain unencumbered in our ability to trade with one another.

Securing shipping lanes critical to the flow of international commerce is important not only in the Middle East, but in Europe as well.

In concert with our partners and allies, we endeavor to keep the seas open for the free flow of commerce—including grain vital to our world’s food stability.

From longstanding exercises like BALTIC OPERATIONS 2023 to NEPTUNE STRIKE 2023, we are sailing alongside our allies and partners in international waters throughout the Europe, building upon our interoperability while deterring further Russian aggression.

We are committed to working with you to support our Ukrainian partners as they counter Russia’s illegal and unprovoked violation of their territorial and national sovereignty.

As President Biden expressed last month during his address to mark Ukraine’s independence day, “The United States will continue our work, together with partners all around the world, to support Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s aggression, to uphold the foundational principles of the UN Charter, and to help the Ukrainian people build the secure, prosperous, and independent future they deserve.”

I would like to thank those nations that continue to stand with and support Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s attacks.

This prosperous future we seek in Europe is no different from what we are working towards in the Indo-Pacific, alongside our allies and partners.

From the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative, Pacific Partnership 2023, and exercise TALISMAN SABRE 23 in July, our naval services are operating side-by-side across this region.

We are committed to supporting you as you endeavor to secure your exclusive economic zones against encroachment from illicit maritime activity, including IUU fishing, and in deterring conflict that could endanger the world’s economy and shipping that passes though the region. 

Economic security is national security, and national security is indeed economic security.

Now, the examples I just highlighted are but a small snapshot of the hundreds of exercises, port visits, task forces, leadership summits, and one-on-one meetings we’ve had with one another in this year so far, in every region across the entire globe.

Admiral Franchetti and her team have crafted an incredible program of events for this week that builds upon the momentum gained from our prior engagements as we continue to think about how to address challenges in the maritime domain—and how we can preserve the rules-based system of international order that has governed an era of relative international stability and prosperity over the last 80 years.

This week’s panels include topics such as food, energy, seabed infrastructure, and commerce; artificial intelligence and unmanned technology; IUU maritime activity; and how we can better develop, empower, and retain Sailors in our respective naval services. 

You will also have an opportunity to participate in an unmanned technology demonstration, providing a forum to build upon the panel discussion as we consider how we can all leverage game-changing technologies to advance our navies’ capabilities at, above, and below the sea.

However, it is important to recognize that the dialogues we’ll have this week don’t end Friday at the closing ceremony.

Admiral Franchetti, myself, and our indeed our entire Department are excited to continue engaging with each and every one of you long after we leave Newport.

Future events already in the works include exercise Rim of the Pacific 2024—the world’s largest maritime exercise; International Seapower Symposium 26 in 2025; and planning for our Navy’s 250^th birthday—also in 2025—is underway.

And I am especially excited to share with all of you that, in 2026, we are planning to host an international naval review.

Our vision for this event, as part of a larger celebration of the United States of America’s 250^th birthday, is to invite you—our fellow, like-minded maritime nations—to our shores in celebration of 250 years of our naval and national heritage—something each and every nation represented here today has had a real and positive impact on.

Our successes are not ours alone, and our nation has flourished because of our many international partnerships—friendships—that we share with you.  Those friendships are built on decades—and in some cases, centuries—of trust and collaboration.

As a maritime nation, we are committed to maintaining a strong Fleet and Force that is capable of ensuring the free access to seas not just for ourselves, but for our allies and partners.

Despite whatever challenges we may face as a nation, those who would seek to up-end the international rules-based order should never question our commitment to defending democratic principles and freedom around the globe, especially in the maritime domain.

It is in our collective interest to work together in defense of our shared ideals as we endeavor to make our world a better place for our children, and our grandchildren.

Again, it is a true pleasure and honor to be with you all here in Newport, and I look forward to speaking with and listening to each and every one of you as we discuss how we can preserve a maritime commons that is free and open for all to use for the benefit of every nation around the globe.

May God continue to bless our nations, our fleets, and our Sailors and their families.

Source: United States Navy

Welcome back everyone!

I hope that all of your conversations and engagements this morning were both productive and fruitful. It’s my sense by walking around and seeing all the connections being made, that we are really starting to build on those friendships, and build that trust that we would really like to continue to have as we face our shared challenges together.

So, this morning, I suggested that the interdependencies of the global system offer critical opportunities for collaboration across the maritime domain.  And I offered that securing and strengthening our global system will require courageous action and creative solutions from all of us.  And that’s really why we’re here at ISS.

This afternoon, I’d like to expand on these ideas.  We gather this week at a pivotal moment in our collective history.  The decisions we make now – as leaders of the global maritime community – will shape our future. 

I believe that this interconnected yet fragile world calls for our even-keeled leadership, our combined strength, and our mutual resolve. 

The community of nations represented here today understands well that these are turbulent times, not unlike those we faced back in 1969, at the first ISS.  We have all scanned the horizon and we have seen the forces threatening to make the world more unstable … and more dangerous. 

We face many common challenges, from the impacts of climate change and food insecurity to terrorism, migration, contagious diseases, and energy shortages.

We see the violation of basic rights and principles, such as territorial integrity and national sovereignty, which are foundational to international law.

We’ve read reports like the one recently issued by the United Nations, which finds that arms proliferation has reached its highest point in decades.

And all of us are trying to discern how technological revolutions such as unmanned systems and artificial intelligence will change the way we design and operate our forces.

These challenges … and more … are not just local, but regional, trans-regional, and global.   They affect us both individually and collectively. 

And they present tremendous opportunity for the maritime community to work together, imaginatively and cooperatively. 

For example, rising sea levels and increasingly severe storm surges threaten our ports, our harbors, and our maritime infrastructure.  They affect our bases, our Sailors, and our civilians.  Our navies are expected to identify policies and practices to mitigate risk, and minimize impacts to our operations. 

As we do so, we have the chance to share solutions and insights, and to work together to develop adaptation strategies that will make our facilities and our communities more resilient. 

Similarly, receding ice in the Arctic is unlocking routes for trans-oceanic shipping, and opening previously inaccessible areas to resource exploration.  Countries will need to become more familiar with the Arctic operating environment while also managing risks associated with increased economic and military activity.  We can do this only through effective communication and by deepening our coordination. 

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing endangers ocean ecosystems and exacerbates tensions at sea.  Again, we need to synchronize our efforts – collecting and sharing data on these activities while identifying best practices for detecting, deterring, reducing, and ultimately eliminating IUU fishing. 

In support of these goals, the U.S. Navy contributes to the broader U.S. Coast Guard and interagency strategies to build interoperability with our counterparts – with many of you.  This includes the growing use of unmanned platforms that can greatly enhance our collective maritime domain awareness.  And we are committed to do doing more.

A common thread across all these challenges is the need for the secure, free, and uninterrupted flow of commerce across the oceans.  The seas are the lifeblood of our economy, our security, and our way of life.

Nothing facilitates this flow of commerce more than the container ship.  It is the single greatest vehicle of trade on the planet, and perhaps the single greatest symbol of our interconnectedness.

It is not uncommon for such a ship to be owned by one country, operated by a company from a second country, and crewed by people from a third … with goods originating in dozens of countries, destined for dozens more. 

Because we live in such an interconnected and interdependent system, any disruption to this flow of goods – even to a lone container ship – can have global repercussions. 

For example, if a container ship is seized, or hijacked by pirates – or by other malign actors – it creates a ripple effect felt around the world. 

Concerted efforts by national authorities, regional partners, and international navies have made real progress in combatting piracy and armed robbery in places like the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean.  The U.S. Navy is proud to contribute to these efforts.  We recognize that continued engagement is needed to pool our resources and help fill national capacity gaps … and we want to better understand where these gaps are.

Likewise, if a ship is supposed to carry grain to countries in urgent need, and it is prevented from leaving port or threatened while underway, it only further stresses the entire international food supply system.   

Our navies understand the maritime operational environment affects these shipments … and we can use this understanding to help develop strategies and provide options to civilian decision-makers as they work through diplomatic solutions to such problems.

All these examples underscore the fact that in a world increasingly prone to turbulence and turmoil … security through partnership is critical.

Only through partnership can we become more resilient to food insecurity, energy disruption, and supply chain ruptures.

Only through partnership can we effectively collaborate and prepare for increasingly frequent natural disasters.

And only through partnership can we strengthen the security of our maritime community.

No one Navy – no single nation – can handle these challenges alone.  

We – the global maritime community – must work together in solidarity and align efforts in a way that benefits us all.  We must do this deliberately, voluntarily, and collectively. 

So, fellow leaders, this week we have an opportunity to increase resilience, strengthen security, and promote prosperity—as partners.  And as we define, with broad strokes, the overall shape of our maritime partnership, I would offer that it should have at least three characteristics.

First, our partnership should be collaborative and integrated.  There should be no North or South … no East and West … but instead coalitions of countries who can participate in and engage on matters of common interest.  

From food and energy security and the impacts of a changing climate, to artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies, our maritime community can work together on shared challenges in a regional, trans-regional, and global framework that are fit for purpose. 

Second, this partnership should be inclusive.  Every maritime nation has a seat at the table and a role to play, no matter the size of your forces or the extent of your capabilities. 

In this combined effort, the U.S. Navy will lead when asked … and will support when that is best.  In this interconnected world, every navy and coast guard counts. And let me just say that one more time, in this interconnected world, every navy and every coast guard counts.

Third, I suggest that our partnership is strongest when it is based on principles embodied in international law. These principles, such as national sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, and human dignity benefit everyone.  These principles give us a shared reference point, and allow us to build trust.  And ultimately, it is this trust that will sustain us and strengthen us.

In closing, this decade offers us—the maritime leaders of the world—a choice. 

We have the opportunity to choose engagement over withdrawal, to promote integration over fragmentation, to favor inclusion over exclusion, to champion collaboration over protectionism, and to choose principles over sheer power, as the basis for a partnership that benefits everyone.

The choice to come together to address overlapping challenges is ours to make.  And the framework for this partnership is ours to shape.  I look forward to shaping it with you. 

I am confident that, through partnership, we can strengthen our resilience, increase our prosperity, and improve our security. 

I know that we will be stronger together. 

Thank you all very much.

Source: United States Navy

DLA Energy Utility Services worked with Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command to award its second utilities privatization contract on Aug. 15 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, for the water and wastewater systems. 

“DLA Energy Utility Services supports Military Service partners by offering specialized contracting and technical expertise to obtain safe, reliable, and environmentally sound utility systems, at a relatively lower cost than they would under continued government ownership,” said Martha Gray, Director of DLA Energy Utility Services. “We offer cradle-to-grave contracting support including full range of pre- and post-award contract administration for the 50-year contract term.”

The Department of Defense is working to leverage commercial sources to ensure it has reliable, resilient, and cyber secure energy resources, generation assets, distribution infrastructure, and facility-related controls and data. Military bases are working to “privatize” electric, gas, water, wastewater, and other utility systems to transfer ownership to the experts and ensure compliance with energy security, energy resilience, and cybersecurity requirements.

DLA Energy Utility Services coordinates and consolidates utilities privatization efforts to help military installations shift from the role of owner-operator to that of smart utility service customers.

“Very simply, this is an extremely significant contract award for the DOD, and another example of the Navy embracing smart solutions like the UP Program to meet crucial infrastructure obligations,” said Rear Adm. Lore Aguayo, commander, NAVFAC Atlantic.

American States Utility Services Inc., San Dimas, California, was awarded the 50-year $348 million fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for the ownership, operation, and maintenance of water and wastewater utility systems on NAS Patuxent River including any repair, upgrade, or improvement of the systems. Under the contract, there is a 6-month transition period to ensure seamless operations are established and inventory assets are fully accounted for in the contract.

American States will provide water treatment, storage and distribution across the main base and beyond to include the Navy Recreation Center Solomons, Webster Field and Glenn Forest Housing. Patuxent River NAS will keep ownership of the water and land, leaving American States responsible for treating/transporting the water and maintaining all of the systems.

“We are very pleased to have been awarded our first Navy contract and we take great pride in our strong relationship with the U.S. government and their continued confidence in our expertise in managing water and wastewater systems on military bases,” stated Robert J. Sprowls, President and CEO of American States Water Company in a press release.

NAS Pax River is headquarters to the Naval Air Systems Command; the U.S. Naval Test Wing Atlantic; the Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers; the Naval Air Station Port Operations; the U.S. Coast Guard Station St. Inigoes; and is responsible for the ship/shore/air excellence integration supporting the Navy’s principal flight and ground test activity.

The first utility services contract award with the U.S. Navy was for the wastewater utility system at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, which successfully transferred ownership earlier this year. Read more about other utilities privatization projects in the DLA Newsroom. 

DLA Energy Utility Services plans to continue growing its partnerships and helping military and federal customers increase energy reliability, security and resilience. Learn more about DLA Energy Utility Services and other DLA Energy programs and services at www.DLA.mil/Energy.