The summit included nearly 200 participants from across the sustainment enterprise to include, The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Sustainment; Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic; Commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center; Director, Surface Ship Maintenance, Modernization and Sustainment; Navy’s Expeditionary Warfare and Surface Warfare directorates; the Program Executive Offices for Ships, Integrated Warfare Systems, and Unmanned and Small Combatants; and NAVSUP Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence.
The two-day event was chaired by Surface Warfare Officer Boss, Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener. Day one included a number of level-setting briefs to include a joint brief on wholesale supply and retail sparing issues led by NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support, Surface TYCOM N41, and Naval Sea Logistics Center. This brief tied current funding pool challenges to Surface Warfare Enterprise sustainment and readiness in the context of Performance to Plan, Navy’s approach to improving operational results using data. The brief also provided a background on how Navy Working Capital Fund works, maritime allowancing basics, and tactics to effect desired outcomes.
The bulk of the two days were spent discussing the myriad sustainment issues impacting the various ship classes. Though the issues were far ranging, parts availability surfaced as a common theme, especially for older Hull, Mechanical and Electrical systems.
Lynn Kohl, NAVSUP WSS vice commander, weighed in on the need to engage the wholesale supply system with these parts issues, especially when life-of-type part buy opportunities arise.
Kohl also mentioned there is a place for NAVSUP WSS to use the Navy Working Capital Fund to fund certain ship harvesting efforts, the decommissioning process for Ticonderoga-class cruisers for example. If ongoing demand for these harvested parts are expected, NAVSUP WSS would recoup the harvesting cost through future sales. NAVSUP WSS and Naval Sea System Command’s Surface Ship Sustainment Office, PMS 443, are in ongoing discussions on implementing this plan as a result of this conversation at the summit.
NAVSUP WSS is one of 11 commands under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, NAVSUP employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP and the Navy Supply Corps conduct and enable supply chain, acquisition, operational logistics and Sailor and family care activities with our mission partners to generate readiness and sustain naval forces worldwide to prevent and decisively win wars. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsupwss, and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.