PENSACOLA, Fla. – Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) conducted a Force Development (FD) strategic off-site to focus on fiscal year 2023 (FY23) strategic planning at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Aug. 17.

Staff leaders from NETC, Navy Recruiting Command, Naval Service Training Command, and Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center came together to discuss FD’s mission and vision statements and refine strategic goals, objectives and annual goals.

 “We owe the fleet the very best in recruitment and training delivery, especially in today’s increasingly competitive talent market,” said Kent Miller, NETC’s executive director.  “Every one of us as leaders brings fresh perspective and personal insights and experience to this deliberative strategic planning process.”

Strategic planning is an important aspect of how the NETC commander, Rear Adm. Pete Garvin, provides an integrated vision across the largest shore command within the Navy.

Focusing on how concrete strategic goals support MyNavy HR strategic planning and the chief of naval operations’ (CNO) Navigation Plan 2022 helps FD outline a framework that builds upon the four foundational priorities of readiness, capabilities, capacity and Sailors.

“Strategic planning requires time, effort and continual reassessment,” said Michele Harrison, acting director of NETC’s strategy, innovation, and voluntary education N5 directorate.  “This off-site is a start, but it is only the beginning. Strategic planning is not an event…it gives us clear directions that aligns the Force Development team around a clear vision, mission, values, goals and action plans.”
 
Using the Get Real, Get Better (GRGB) approach to shape this year’s strategic planning, participants were asked to be ruthlessly honest when discussing past mission performance.
 
GRGB is the CNO’s call to action for leaders to apply a set of Navy-proven leadership and problem solving best practices to empower their people to achieve exceptional performance. The concept requires leaders at all levels to honestly self-assess, continuously self-correct, use a learning mindset, and transparently share what they learn to make others more successful.

With GRGB, leaders are encouraged to find and fix problems – and innovate –from the deckplate to senior leaders, so they can identify what works, what doesn’t and develop new ways to solve problems at the lowest level.

The off-site participants kept this in mind while discussing the results of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis with more than 300 inputs covering topics such as workforce and manpower; IT infrastructure; Ready Relevant Learning; Transformation; telework and remote work; facilities; and various work-related and training processes.

“In Get Real, Get Better, it’s important to take a fix of where the organization is at that moment and then identify corrective action required to reach our desired end state, so a SWOT approach is very much in line with GRGB,” said Ryan Dallett, a program analyst in NETC N51 who was leading the event.

Miller encouraged working group participants to get out of their comfort zone during breakout sessions while their team worked on an assigned strategic goal, outlined objectives and brainstormed annual goals to get after those objectives.

 “We had some pretty lively and invigorating discussions about where we are and where we see our organization going,” said Miller.  “What the team accomplished at the off-site will continue to make us better and help us fulfill our role in preparing Sailors to be part of the world’s strongest Navy, ready to take on any adversary and win, wherever and whenever the nation calls.”

The strategic planning process and work continues on after the off-site and will lead to an updated FD strategic design and plan.

“This gives us clarity to where we want to go,” said Harrison.  “FD leadership is setting us on the right track. To reach our vision, it will take this continuous leadership and the FD team.  We are off to a great start.”

NETC recruits, trains, and delivers those who serve the nation, taking them from “street to fleet” by transforming them into highly skilled, operational and combat ready warfighters.

For more information about NETC, visit the command’s website at https://www.netc.navy.mil/ and follow MyNavy HR: Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MYNAVYHR/, Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/mynavyhr/ and Twitter at http://twitter.com/mynavyhr/