Navy Secretary Donald Winter signed out instructions last month setting forth assignment of responsibilities for maritime domain awareness (MDA).
The seven-page document outlines the roles Navy officials will play in formulating a MDA plan.
Additionally, the instructions establish responsibilities for the Senior Steering Group (SSG), the MDA Oversight Group (MOG) and the Action Officer Group (AOG).
Winter signed the instructions on Jan. 30.
Under the instructions, the Secretary of the Navy is designated the Department of Defense’s (DoD) executive agent for MDA.
The CNO will be responsible for: Overseeing execution of Navy MDA activities, plans and strategies; developing strategic roadmaps and guidance for Navy MDA activities, while ensuring alignment to DoD MDA policy guidance; validating Navy MDA requirements and assessing yearly the effectiveness of Navy MDA activities against strategic roadmaps and guidance objectives; submitting the Navy’s MDA annual plan to Secretary of the Navy for approval. This plan will outline Navy programmed and planned MDA capabilities over a five- year period, to include support of tasking to combatant commanders (COCOMs) to persistently monitor the maritime domain; collect, develop, and prepare for validation by the Joint Resource Oversight Council, in accordance with Navy MDA capability requirements to support service and departmental guidance, ensuring the resulting requirements are adequately resourced in the Navy budget to implement current MDA program requirements; coordinate with the Joint Staff to ensure geographic and functional COCOMs have adequate Department of Navy (DON) forces, equipment, and training available to support COCOM MDA requirements, as appropriate; and represent the Navy with the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on matters regarding the utility/performance of DON MDA-related systems, networks, and policies, and MDA capability needs.
The Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) will be required to submit the Marine Corps’ annual plan to the SECNAV that outlines programmed and planned Marine Corps MDA capabilities, if any, over a five-year period. At the CMC’s discretion, the CMC may rely upon the CNO to incorporate Marine Corps MDA requirements into a single DON annual plan.
The Navy’s acquisition chief will develop and maintain, in consultation with the Vice Chief of Naval Operations and the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, a plan for a strong, sustained MDA science and technology (S&T)/research and development (R&D) base to establish a transition process to inject innovative capabilities into acquisition and operations.
The Chief of Naval Research will include MDA capability gaps in planning future naval capabilities and developing S&T roadmaps and work with appropriate Program Executive Officers to ensure viable MDA technologies are rapidly transitioned into formal programs of record.
The SSG will provide oversight and guidance on all DON MDA activities, and develop and recommend MDA policy to SECNAV, CNO, and CMC; provide oversight and guidance to the MOG; review, approve and transmit to the CNO the MDA annual plan developed by the MOG.
The MOG will make recommendations to the SSG and assist the Deputy CNO MDA director in discharging his/her duties under this instruction. Specifically the MOG will support the; development of Navy MDA strategic roadmaps and guidance; validation of Navy MDA requirements and assessment of the effectiveness of MDA elements against all relevant strategic roadmaps and guidance.
The AOG will be chaired by an individual nominated by the chair of the MOG and approved by the co-chairs of the SSG; take actions directed by the SSG and the MOG, and submit MDA issues for review and decision by the MOG and SSG; have a leadership, membership, and organizational structure as set forth in a terms of reference document to be issued separately.