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In the mid-1980s, the U.S. Navy’s advertising slogan was, “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure,” enticing thousands of men and women aged 18-24 with a chance to see the exotic locales the world had to offer, with a job that mattered. The advertisements were painted with the colors of a vibrant sunset, an imposing warship looming on the miles of dark water before it, and promises of camaraderie, good pay and an education.
Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) Commander Rear Adm. Doug Small was one of the eager young people who answered the call. When a recruiting postcard came in the mail at his home in Birchwood — a small town in northern Wisconsin numbering fewer than 500 residents — he jumped at the chance. “I knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn’t know how to get there because I’d be the first in my family to ever go,” he said. “The postcard had a code for me to send my ACT scores to the Navy and get a scholarship. So, I did, and I did.”
That postcard, laden with all its promises of adventure and purpose, kickstarted a nearly 40-year career in the Navy for Small. It led him to four years in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was commissioned after graduating in 1988 and started his long journey of naval service that will come to an end in San Diego this August.
“I only wanted to do four years of military service and then get out, but I loved it so much,” he said. “I was on USS Camden (AOE 2) with the most amazing Sailors. It was incredible to see the world, places I never could’ve imagined. I really did tell myself I was going to stay in as long as I was having fun.”
While he was attending the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, the Cold War came to an end, and the Navy found itself without any adversaries in sea control, leading to a lot of downsizing across the organization. There were no longer many department head positions available aboard ships, so Small stayed on as a student to get his Ph.D. in physics and become an engineering duty officer upon graduation in 1997.
“It was the end of history. Suddenly, everything changed, and the Navy had to wrestle with what their new strategy was,” he said. “I really agonized over my decision to become an engineering duty officer because I loved being out at sea so much, but I just couldn’t see a path forward where I could contribute at the same level as an officer.”
Eventually, Small was able to serve aboard a ship again, as a department head combat systems officer (plankowner) on USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7). His tours in acquisition included the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and the Missile Defense Agency. Prior to joining NAVWAR in August 2020, he was the commander of Program Executive Office (PEO) Integrated Warfare Systems (IWS) and executive assistant (EA) to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN RD&A).
As NAVWAR Commander, Small oversees 11,000 civilian and military personnel across the world, all dedicated to developing, delivering and sustaining information warfighting capabilities. This encompasses Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific; NIWC Atlantic; PEO Command, Control, Computers, Communication and Intelligence (C4I); PEO Digital and Enterprise Services; and PEO Manpower, Logistics and Business Solutions (MLB).
Under his leadership, NAVWAR was named the Navy’s No. 1 place to work by the 2023 Best Places to Work in Federal Government rankings, a reflection of his top priority during his tenure – supporting the NAVWAR workforce by fostering a culture of excellence. “I always say organizations don’t do anything. It’s the people who are doing the work. As the commander, I want to give my employees the best possible environment they can have to do their jobs,” he said.
Small led numerous advances to prioritize the workforce, including a robust slate of events centered around diversity, wellness and distinguished speakers who share their insights. Data-driven solutions, often created and championed by the employees themselves, also contribute to increasing morale because they result in faster turnaround and more efficient communication.
Also central to fostering a culture of excellence is cultivating a mission mindset. NAVWAR is the only acquisition command on the West Coast, nearly 3,000 miles away from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in Washington, D.C., to whom Small directly reports. Despite NAVWAR’s proximity to numerous naval bases in San Diego, many employees have never stepped foot on a ship. As a result, it can be difficult to maintain a connection to the mission, but Small sought to improve that with opportunities for first-hand exposure. New employees now receive a more detailed overview of NAVWAR’s mission during orientation, and the advent of ship tours have allowed the workforce to explore an active warship with a knowledgeable guide.
“The main thing that sets us apart from other industry tech companies is the mission. Making sure people feel that connection to it and each other is absolutely critical to what we do,” said Small. “It’s a different experience to see the link between what we deliver to the Sailor who has to operate and maintain it. Understanding where we fit into the Navy big picture allows us to do better work and stay engaged.”
Small credits introspection and willingness to listen as key tenets of being a good leader. Throughout his time at NAVWAR, he participated in numerous reverse mentoring groups to receive feedback from people across the organization, at differing levels of seniority. These were open and honest conversations, often with suggestions about things that needed to change to make NAVWAR a better workplace. A lot of the programs implemented, centered around mission mindset or equity, diversity and inclusion, were a direct result of discussions Small had with reverse mentoring groups.
“I find that as you get more senior in this, or any, profession, the more people tell you what you want to hear,” he said. “Experience is important, but it’s not always the best predictor of future results. It becomes increasingly crucial to seek out voices that are going to tell you the way it really is. Introspection is uncomfortable, but it enables you to see things from a different perspective and be a more well-rounded leader.”
In addition to Small’s responsibilities as commander, he is also in the unique position of leading the Project Overmatch charge, a high-level and top-secret Navy initiative to digitally connect the entire Fleet. As the Navy’s contribution to Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), it is part of a larger Department of Defense (DOD) effort to unify networks across the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force.
One of Small’s most memorable moments at NAVWAR was receiving the letter from then-CNO Adm. Mike Gilday to start the endeavor in 2020. “It was not something I ever expected,” he said. “To get a letter from the CNO, directly to me, asking me to lead Overmatch and saying, ‘By the way, the future of sea control depends on your success, and we’re all behind you’ — it was more than memorable; it was all-consuming.”
Putting together a team of experts from NAVWAR and across the entire Navy was something that had never been done before, so it was daunting for Small establish a framework. To accomplish their goals, the Overmatch team had to constantly evolve and adapt to new obstacles. Starting with already existing capability, they continued to improve it based on the Fleet’s wants and needs. “There is amazing talent working on Project Overmatch, all of whom are incredibly patriotic and brilliant, with these ideas of what they wanted to accomplish. These were not new concepts, but what was unique to Overmatch is that we finally had the authorities to move out on it,” said Small. “That was the driving factor behind all our decisions to get to a software-centric Naval force that can move at speed.”
As information warfare continues to be the center of the current military landscape, NAVWAR holds a significant role in the future of the Navy. Looking ahead, Small believes that outpacing adversaries by delivering the best capabilities to Sailors and Marines is crucial. As the line between capability and systems blurs, the ability to adapt quickly to emerging challenges becomes more important.
“Given how critical information is, we must be best at it. For NAVWAR, that’s our bread and butter. It’s an area that decides who wins or loses, or whether a conflict arises in the first place,” he said. “We need to ask ourselves, how are we going to position ourselves to constantly improve and provide our Sailors and Marines with the very best? We need to think differently on how we deliver capability and abstract it from the traditional view of hardware systems as we move towards a software-based approach.”
After four years shepherding NAVWAR through the information warfare age and leading the Project Overmatch charge, Small will be relieved of his command by Rear Adm. Seiko Okano and retire from military service Aug. 9. The promise of excitement the Navy made to him all those years ago was fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled even after he leaves his uniform behind.
Although nothing has been decided for certain yet, Small still wants to contribute in some meaningful way to the current strategic competition. For now, his post-retirement plans include spending more time with family and a cross-country RV trip to see the diverse landscape of America, an adventure in its own right.
“I want to say thank you to the entire NAVWAR workforce for everything. The talent we have all throughout the organization is amazing, in every department and program office,” Small said. “Hold onto that connectedness, the mission and each other. Be proud of what you can do, and even have a little swagger about it. Your place in the Navy is vital to the mission. Recognize how good you are what you do and be confident that you can rise to any challenge. We’ve been through a lot together so thank you all for everything.”
About NAVWAR:
NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and reserve professionals located around the world.
| Date Taken: | 08.02.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2024 09:35 |
| Story ID: | 477649 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 610 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, “Thank You for Everything”: Rear Adm. Small Bids Farewell to NAVWAR After Nearly Four Decades of Service, by Lily Chen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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