ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE ROUTINE R 051506Z OCT 01 ZYB MIN PSN 297101J20 FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC//SN// TO ALNAV UNCLAS ALNAV 102/01 MSGID/GENADMIN/SN// SUBJ/NAVY AND MARINE CORPS INTRANET: FUTURE OF OUR NAVAL FORCES// RMKS/1. ALTHOUGH WE ARE ALL CONSUMED WITH DEALING WITH THE EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11, IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT THAT WE DAILY CONTINUE TO CHANGE AND IMPROVE OUR OPERATING PROCESSES. 2. THIS MESSAGE REINFORCES AND UPDATES THE NMCI POLICIES PREVIOUSLY STATED BY THEN NAVY SECRETARY DANZIG. 3. I WANT TO REITERATE TO EACH PERSON HOW IMPORTANT OUR NAVY MARINE CORPS INTRANET (NMCI) INITIATIVE IS TO THE FUTURE OF OUR NAVY AND MARINE CORPS, AND WHAT WE HAVE DISCOVERED IN OUR ONGOING IMPLEMENTATION OF NMCI. NMCI IS THE FOUNDATION PROGRAM TO PROVIDE THE NAVY AND THE MARINE CORPS A SECURE, INTEROPERABLE, AND USER FRIENDLY "INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY". IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO - AND WE ARE PROCEEDING TO MAKE IT A REALITY. 4. NMCI IS AN IMMENSE ACHIEVEMENT, AND IT OUTFITS THE NAVY AND THE MARINE CORPS FOR THEIR VOYAGE THROUGH THE 21ST CENTURY. THIS INTRANET IS ESSENTIAL, BUT IT ONLY FACILITATES CHANGE, IN MUCH THE SAME WAY THAT TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES OPENED OPPORTUNITY BUT WERE THEMSELVES MEANS, NOT ENDS. 5. NMCI WILL MAKE INFORMATION INSTANTLY ACCESSIBLE TO ALL CERTIFIED USERS THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT. THE CONSOLIDATION OF SCORES OF SEPARATELY PURCHASED AND MAINTAINED SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS WILL YIELD VALUABLE SHORT-TERM GAINS IN ECONOMY, EFFICIENCY AND SECURITY. OUR DECISION TO CONTRACT FOR GUARANTEED LEVELS OF SERVICE FROM A PRIVATE MANAGER (BUYING INFORMATION CONVEYANCE AS THOUGHT IT WERE A UTILITY, LIKE ELECTRICITY) TRANSCENDS OUR OFTEN-CUMBERSOME PROCUREMENT TECHNIQUES AND LINKS US MORE DIRECTLY TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR. WE HAVE THEREFORE FOUND A MECHANISM FOR GREATLY INCREASING THE SPEED AND FLEXIBILITY WITH WHICH THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL BE REFRESHED. 6. BUT, SUBSTANTIAL AS THESE BENEFITS ARE, THEY ARE DWARFED BY IMPLICATIONS OF EMPOWERING INSTANTANEOUS INFORMATION ACCESS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY. A HIGHLY STRUCTURED, STOVE-PIPED, HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION HAS PUT ITSELF ON THE PATH TO BEING HIGHLY FLEXIBLE, INTIMATELY INTEGRATED AND ORGANIZED IN FLAT NETWORKS. 7. NMCI WILL BE AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT IN THE ABILITY OF OUR BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS TO BE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE, PROVIDING VALUE AND CAPABILITY FOR WARFIGHTERS. 8. THE MOST REWARDING APPLICATIONS OF "THE WEB" ARE FOR LARGE COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING ON A GLOBAL BASIS. THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION (OTHER THAN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ITSELF). WE VALUE SPEED, UNITY OF EFFORT AND ECONOMY OF EFFORT AT LEAST AS MUCH AS (OFTEN MORE THAN) ANY COMMERCIAL ENTITY. 9. THE CHALLENGE OF THE NEXT MONTHS AND YEARS IS WHETHER WE CAN SEIZE THE ADVANTAGES OF THE CAPABILITY WE ARE PUTTING IN PLACE. THIS WILL REQUIRE CHANGES THAT TRANSCEND TECHNOLOGY - THEY ARE CHANGES IN THE WAY WE DO THINGS. TO SEIZE THE BENEFIT OF WHAT WE ARE TODAY CREATING, WE WILL NEED TO DECENTRALIZE WHERE HISTORICALLY WE HAVE CENTRALIZED, FLATTEN DECISION-MAKING THAT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN HIERARCHICAL, INTEGRATE WHERE WE ARE OFTEN NOW SEPARATED, CUSTOMIZE WHAT WE ONCE STRUGGLED TO STANDARDIZE, AND USE PRIVATE INDUSTRY TO PERFORM FUNCTIONS WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY JEALOUSLY GUARDED. 10. THERE IS CHANGE AND THEREFORE DIFFICULTY IN WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO, BUT WE ARE STILL GOING FORWARD BECAUSE WE CANNOT STAND STILL. NMCI WAS INITIATED WITH A COMMITMENT TO CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK AND OPERATE. THAT IS ASKING A LOT OF OUR SAILORS, MARINES, CIVILIANS AND ORGANIZATIONS SO YOUR FULL SUPPORT IS CRITICAL TO SUCCESS. THAT IS IN THE BEST TRADITION OF OUR NAVY AND MARINE CORPS. 11. ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS (EDS), OUR PRIME CONTRACTOR, HAS ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR OVER 42,000 SEATS ACROSS FIFTEEN COMMANDS IN THE TEN MONTHS SINCE THE NMCI CONTRACT WAS AWARDED IN OCTOBER 2000. WE HAVE LEARNED MANY VALUABLE LESSONS FROM OUR EFFORT. ONE OF PARTICULAR VALUE HAS BEEN THE REALIZATION OF HOW MANY DIFFERENT LEGACY APPLICATIONS WE IN THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS CURRENTLY OWN AND USE (WE ARE IN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS AND COUNTING). NMCI IMPLEMENTATION HAS FORCED US, AS A DEPARTMENT, TO TACKLE THIS ISSUE - THE SOLUTION TO WHICH (REDUCTION OF THE APPLICATIONS WE USE) IS ALREADY PAYING BIG DIVIDENDS IN COST REDUCTIONS, INTEROPERABILITY, AND EFFICIENCY. 12. A SECOND LESSON LEARNED IS EDS' SPEED OF REACTION TO PROVIDE SUPPORT. AFTER THE 9/11 ATTACK ON THE PENTAGON, APPROXIMATELY 1300 SAILORS, MARINES AND CIVILIANS WERE FORCED TO MOVE OUT OF THE PENTAGON. MANY OF THEIR INFORMATION SYSTEMS WERE DESTROYED. EDS SUPPORTED NEW NETWORKS AND PROVIDED NEW HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE TO ALL OF THESE PEOPLE, ALLOWING THEM TO BECOME OPERATIONAL AGAIN WITHIN DAYS OF THE ATTACK. 13. WE ARE "UNDERWAY, MAKING WAY" TOWARD THE GOAL OF FULLY IMPLEMENTING NMCI ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT BY 2003. ANY CHANGE OF THIS MAGNITUDE IS CHALLENGING - BUT I AM PERSONALLY COMMITTED TO MAKING NMCI A REALITY FOR ALL OUR SAILORS AND MARINES, AND I EXPECT YOUR FULL SUPPORT. BE A LEADER. EMBRACE THE NMCI CHANGE AND LEAD OUR NAVAL SERVICES INTO THE FUTURE. THANKS AND GOD BLESS. 14. RELEASED BY THE HONORABLE GORDON R. ENGLAND, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.// BT