The Navy must develop more digitally literate and data-fluent personnel. The numbers, the spreadsheets, and the vast amounts of other data can be useful to organizations—if they know how to use them. The Navy must be able to rely on data analysis as a business function and integrate it into processes to expand information and decision advantage.
To do so, the Navy must engage sailors and officers at every level and prioritize creating a data-fluent workforce. A maritime fight will increasingly favor high-end warfare and digital environments. The Navy must help the next generation of leaders become comfortable with solutions that rely on tech, data, and scalable autonomy.
The Department of Defense (DoD) is transitioning to a datacentric organization. In May 2021, the new Space Force was quick to announce its vision for a digital service, which required service members and employees to possess skills such as data analysis to gain digital acumen.1 Shortly thereafter, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks issued “Data Decrees” that highlighted the importance of data in future DoD operations.2 For some in the military, this was music to their ears. For others, anxiety ensued as they scrambled to the nearest computer to watch a Ted Talk on algorithms to comprehend how data-powered solutions can generate change. Clark Cully, DoD deputy chief data officer, said that those who are fluent in using data will be the future leaders of the joint force.3 This may be true for the other services, but the Navy still has much to do in creating a generation of data-fluent leaders.
The Air Force is rapidly developing a workforce fluent in data to enhance its concept of “airpower anytime, anywhere.” The Air Force’s Digital University partnered with Udacity, a leader in the digital talent space, to create nanodegrees for airmen and officers to pursue courses that teach relevant cyber skills.4 Commands were instructed to provide ample opportunities for airmen to enroll while managing their daily expectations at work. Further, the Air Force is pursuing incentives such as cash bonuses and stipends for airmen who complete certification and learn computer science to be assigned to the highest priority missions. Udacity reported that 45 percent of individuals who participated in the program moved to fill mission-critical digital analysis gaps after course completion.5
The Air Force then used this newly cultivated talent to stand up a program called the Visible, Accessible, Understandable, Linked, and Trusted (VAULT) data platform. VAULT is intended to act as a massive data “ingestor” that allows users to easily visualize and understand data provided in key mission areas such as maintenance, personnel retention, deployment cycles, and mission effectiveness. VAULT is also easily shareable and spans several programs for maximum usage. The Navy is still creating data silos that make it nearly impossible to drive insight, innovation, and change. An increase in data-fluent personnel in the fleet could allow the Navy to quickly cut through the “noise” found in data to make tactical decisions at speed. So why is there such a shortage of data-fluent individuals?
The Data-Fluent Talent Drain
The Navy continues to lag in attracting and retaining top data-fluent and technically trained talent for several reasons. First, data-fluent sailors are sprinting to high-paying private companies. Further, sailors are not given incentives to pursue college-level computer programming or on-the-job technical training that would benefit the Navy’s ventures in data science, artificial intelligence, cyberspace, or space operations.
A lack of data fluency in the officer community contributes to a persistent Navy problem: the acquisition of programs and technologies that do not meet emerging warfighting requirements. Officers continue to be driven away from special technical tracks or billets from which they could contribute to the improvement of data usage in the Navy. Those who complete coveted tours-with-industry, talent-management programs, and similar initiatives are sent back to their warfare communities. There, they complete tours leading to command and are often discouraged from straying from that path. The Navy needs data-savvy leaders to engage with the industrial base to properly communicate its requirements.
Change the Culture
A culture shift must begin at the tactical level, where sailors and junior officers are exposed to data theories in their early education. As they continue to grow and promote in the fleet, they will acquire experience with data-centric systems as users in their day-to-day environments. In addition, creating programs such as the Air Force’s digital talent initiative will provide the Navy options to grow its own data-fluent leaders.
Making the time and financial commitment to invest in its workforce will improve the Navy’s digital talent retention in an understaffed and competitive market. The service, however, cannot just start a program of this nature and invite sailors to join. It needs to support sailors and officers who value these skills and are passionate about applying data to warfighting. Moreover, data-fluent naval officers are the best ambassadors to convey the fleet’s demands to critical industry partners at Naval X, the Navy and Marine Corps innovation cell, and DoD’s Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office. Detailing these officers to the acquisition community, the Office of Naval Research, and the Joint Staff J6/C4/Cyber Directorate will improve the effectiveness of fleetwide modernization efforts.
The Chief of Naval Operations’ (CNO’s) 2022 Navigation Plan does highlight focus areas in which the power of data can improve mission effectiveness. For example, the Navy intends to harness data for wargaming efforts.5 Further, data fluency fueled efforts to modernize naval digital architecture for implementation in the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept.6 The fleet’s February 2023 announcement of a cyber enlisted rating and a cyber officer designation also signals that demand for this talent exists. The Navy needs to go further and prioritize data fluency to solve issues such as maintenance delays and logistics challenges, among other pressing obstacles.
The Navy cannot engage data-driven environments without having the leaders, infrastructure, and knowledge to best use information to support its objectives. The CNO must invest more in developing a data-fluent workforce. Warfare is transitioning from on-the-ground, counterinsurgency conflict to great-power contested environments that will rely more heavily on digital prowess. The Navy’s investment in data fluency will achieve the decision advantage needed to keep the force effective and lethal.
1. Sandra Erwin, “Space Force Tells Troops to Focus on Digital Skills,” SpaceNews, 6 May 2021.
2. David Vergun, “DoD Aims to Transform Itself into a Data-Centric Organization,” DoD News, 10 May 2021.
3. Billy Mitchell, “Those Who Are ‘Data Fluent’ Will Be Future Leaders of DoD, Deputy CDO Says,” FedScoop, 19 May 2021.
4. Jackson Barnett, “Air Force’s Digital University Prepares for Launch with a Focus on ‘Tactical Operators’,” FedScoop, 21 August 2020.
5. Udacity, “High Stakes, High Reward: How the U.S. Air Force Is Building Job-Ready Digital Talent to Support Their Mission.”
6. Matthew Schehl, “NPS Launches Naval Warfare Studies Institute to Expedite Fleet Warfighting Solutions,” Naval Postgraduate School, 13 January 2021.
