On 30 August 2021, 62 military and civilian leaders representing the Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, and industry came to Annapolis to participate in the U.S. Naval Institute’s DARE Innovation Workshop. A three-day experience rooted in Design Thinking, DARE divides participants into teams to tackle two issues presented by one of the three Sea Service chiefs. This year’s challenge questions came from Commandant of the Marine Corps General David H. Berger and were aimed at Sea Service collaboration in the maritime gray zone and retention and talent management. Specifically, participants were asked to address:
• How can the Sea Services better compete in the maritime gray zone, where the nation’s strategic competitors currently hold the advantage? What unique capabilities does each service provide, and how can they be synchronized in a cohesive way to counter the strategies of competitors? What investments should the services make in personnel, training, and equipment to better position them for success? What additional authorities should they seek?
• Like other high-performing organizations in the public and private sectors, the Sea Services compete to recruit and retain talent. What are the principal reasons junior officers and enlisted personnel leave the service? What changes in approach or specific personnel policy adjustments would you recommend to improve retention, boost the quality of the workforce, and enhance outcomes for military families?
DARE 2021 was unique in that it was the first held on the East Coast and served as the soft opening of the Naval Institute’s Jack C. Taylor Conference Center. The energy was palpable. After more than a year of operating in mostly virtual settings, participants seized this chance for face-to-face engagement with high-performing professionals beyond their traditional spheres. Given their experience as tactical-level leaders, many showed up with solutions in hand, eager for their voices to be heard. Yet, soon after their arrival, Professor Michael Meyer, director of the University of California San Diego’s Center for Design Driven Transformation, encouraged participants to set aside their own agendas and immerse themselves in the process.
Because this is an atypical approach to problem-solving in the military, many were intrigued. For the next 48 hours, participants embraced the “Double-Diamond Model of Design Thinking,” starting with a full day of problem identification before diving into solution finding. Leaping to solution finding is a common misstep, Meyer explained, because leaders often incorrectly assume knowledge and understanding of the problem.
As teammates shared insight and perspectives rooted in their diverse experiences across the Sea Services and industry, they discovered the problems were bigger than their own. Similarities and differences across experiences reinforced some ideas, while highlighting new ways of thinking about others. Throughout DARE, both divergent and convergent thinking were imperative to offer informed and holistic solutions to the Commandant’s questions.
Question 1
The gray zone teams identified three core problems. First, the United States is limited in what it can do when competing against adversaries’ state-led economies and media enterprises. Suffice it to say, they do not always play by the rules, and the United States does. Second, the Sea Services lack a joint maritime information capability. Fundamental to each of these is the third problem—understanding of the gray zone is muddled across the force. Even DARE teammates initially struggled to come to consensus on a definition. In the end, they concluded the gray zone is the range of operations below the threshold of war and the space in which global norms are either enforced or disregarded.
To address these gaps, the Sea Services and other government agencies must first speak a common language. This can be achieved through increased cross-education and training. Ensuring Department of Defense fellows are assigned to every member of Congress will strengthen civil-military partnerships and enhance the perspectives of decision-makers.
To address adversaries’ media tactics, the Sea Services must dominate the information space. Just like every Marine a rifleman, every Marine an influencer. The services should capitalize on generational tendencies and equip their members with the knowledge, content, and guidance necessary through a Social Media Center of Excellence. This—combined with continued investments in command and control and unmanned systems—will amplify to the world what U.S. adversaries are up to in the gray zone and deter future transgressions.
Question 2
The retention teams identified problems that stem from antiquated performance appraisal systems; misaligned incentives and retention strategies; and a lack of investment in existing talent management initiatives, such as the Marine Corps Talent Management Oversight Division (TMOD). As coined by the teams, Force Design 2030 requires Retention 2030, beginning with a performance evaluation system that is trusted and accurately assesses service members’ performance to clearly distinguish top talent. Other recommendations included:
• Fully staff and invest in talent management initiatives, including TMOD, and mirror the best practices and expertise of human resources contemporaries beyond the military.
• Using Coast Guard models as an example, provide easier on and off ramps, including transitions between the active and reserve components.
• Increase career flexibility and autonomy for top performers using lateral moves, career regression, pauses, and acceleration in rank.
• Maximize transparency in the assignment process, including visibility of all available billets.
• Increase access to monitors (detailers, career specialists) with additional manpower support and embed accountability for slating decisions in their processes.
• Make co-location a priority for dual-military families.
Staff Observations
While participants were tackling the two challenges, the DARE staff noted some overarching themes that offer potential opportunities for the Sea Services. First, there are limited opportunities for junior and midlevel leaders’ voices to be heard at the top. Innovative ideas, as well as key concerns and challenges, may be stifled or watered down before they make their way to key decision-makers. The view of a problem from ground level can be overlooked, with decisions driven from the top down. The result is well-intended initiatives that fall flat.
DARE gives tactical-level leaders the rare chance to collaborate and directly influence the Sea Service chiefs. Mid-level leaders crave these opportunities. General Berger’s investment in DARE—from the creation of challenge questions to his commitment to receiving debriefs—suggests senior leaders also seek this insight into their organizations.
Though scheduled to receive both teams’ briefs in 30 minutes, General Berger spent 90. From the get go, he pressed presenters for their honest takes on the Sea Services’ talent management and their current standing in the gray zone. His desire to understand their views allowed for candor. He took notes, asked questions, and engaged in discourse. While that engagement likely would have been enough to generate enthusiasm, DARE participants were even more inspired when, a week later, General Berger echoed elements of their ideas in remarks to the Marine Corps Association.
A final and powerful observation: DARE helps midlevel leaders build their professional networks. Emphasis on networking typically does not occur until service members reach the senior ranks or are in transition from the military. Within hours of arrival for DARE, participants discovered the value of collaboration and partnership in strengthening their ideas and their voice. In the wake of the experience, they continue to engage with their now more diverse networks. Increased networking opportunities across civilian and military domains at all levels will help synchronize efforts, foster partnerships, and result in innovative strategies that strengthen the Sea Services.
In the end, the DARE Innovation Workshop is special. With the new Jack C. Taylor Conference Center, it is possible DARE could become a semiannual event hosted on both the East and West Coasts. Yet, if the United States is to keep pace with its adversaries—whether in the gray zone, conventional conflict, or against asymmetric threats—DARE should be the model for similar forums across the Department of Defense. Military leaders should be intentional in their efforts to cultivate networking, collaboration, and ideation across services and civil–military lines. In addition, they should ensure voices from the ground up are heard, by leaders who are eager to listen. Until then, keep an eye out for the Naval Institute’s next DARE Innovation Workshop coming to San Diego 16–18 February 2022.
