(Chief of Naval Operations ADM John Richardson, USN, provided the WEST Keynote Address).

I have been putting my oar back in the water lately, and attempting to demonstrate that there is some creativity left in the old fingers. I don’t have the corporate resources to actually travel to San Diego as I used to, so a recent project came across the desk that asked me to summarize a recent high-profile conference of interest to maritime professionals, and the sub-tribe of the intelligence weenies in specific.

The jointly sponsored Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA)-U.S. Naval Institute WEST Conference and Exposition was held 17-19 February at San Diego’s Convention Center, close to the vibrant nightlife of the Gas Lamp district and the fine dining of Old Town and the Little Italy neighborhood. WEST is what the organizers described as “the foremost event in which the makers of platforms and the designers of technologies can network, discuss and demonstrate their solutions in a single locale. To complete their missions successfully, more than 150,000 professionals in the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard who live in the San Diego area depend on the open discussions and valuable networking WEST provides.”

I used to love that conference when the company was picking up the tab. I don’t think the living is nicer anywhere, and during my time living on the lovely island of Coronado in the Mid-1990s it all came together. The Flagship where I worked was docked less than a lock away from my house; the Navy Exchange Package Store was across the street, and fine dining was just a stroll away.

Those days are gone for me, but the active leadership and deck-plate sailors agree: more than the operators benefit from participating in WEST with the synergy of industry and the retired community. Senior military and government officials gain valuable feedback directly from the West Coast sea service warfighters. Industry leaders learn about military requirements and connect with decision makers as well as operators in a professional environment away from the office.

(The West Conference included many industry exhibitors and static displays like this MQ-8 FIRE SCOUT drone).

(The legendary JoeMaz poses with Vice Admiral “Twig” Branch and his wife).

The active leadership of Naval intelligence was present and engaged, including VADM Ted “Twig” Branch (DNI), VADM Jan Tighe (CYBERCOM), RADM Matt Kohler (NAVIDFOR) and RADM Paul Becker (Joint Staff J2).

(Naval Information Warfare was a key part of the West Conference. RADM Matt Kohler, Commander, Naval Information Forces, addressed the conference. RADM Paul Becker is at front-right).

To augment the formal program, NIP’s San Diego Chapter graciously hosted events during the conference, including a reception in San Diego’s Gas Lamp District and a dinner in Little Italy, one of the great spots for fine dining.

(Retired CAPT and Mrs. Jim Mueller with retired CAPT John Allison).

(Retired CDR Steve Boraz with former DDNI and retired CAPT Mark Clark).

(Joemaz shares a story with NIP Chairman Tony Cothron and his vivacious wife Beth).

(RDML Bruce Loveless with retired CAPT Chris Bott (host) and retired CAPT Dick Pera).

NIP was also prominently represented, with Chairman Tony Cothron and some legendary retired senior officers, including Joe Mazaffro, Chris Bott, Dick Pera, John Allison, Geno Spatafore, Jim Mueller and Steve Boraz.

All the active leadership had at least one major address and several smaller speeches as well as participating in panel discussions. Stated with slightly different variations, Information Warfare was a significant focus area, and in the view of CNO Richardson, we are “not dominant” in this domain.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that most of what they talked about was EW, cyber, and to some degree, what we old timers would recognize as SIGINT. Situational Awareness, understanding adversary intentions, basic Order of Battle (OOB), weapons C&P was virtually nonexistent in the commentary. What we heard our leaders in Information Warfare saying is: “Intel about how to operate and prevail in the EW and Cyber domains is what the leadership of the Navy is demanding and what we knew as Naval Intelligence/IDC is going to give them what they want.”

Joe Mazaffro summed it up this way: “So, it turns out the 80s was golden age of the Operational Intelligence (OPINTEL) Analyst, and the Ocean Surveillance Information System (OSIS) the community ran. The Intel crowd was on top, in all our glory. I don’t remember thinking about it that wy at the time or that it would abruptly end less than ten years later. I was present in the room when the leadership of Naval Intelligence removed the feeding tube from OSIS and permitted the Ocean Surveillance Information System to expire. There was no push-back from the unrestricted Line Officers.”

Joe concluded by saying that “As a result, my sense is that Naval Intel as we learned it and practiced it will unrecognizable, if not nonexistent in five years.”

Jim Mueller commented that Joe’s remarks coincided with his own observations. “It’s different,” he concluded. “And I don’t know if it is better, despite the advances in technology.”

There has been a lot of discussion in the days that followed, and the consensus appears to be that the Cryptologic Community in the Navy is in the ascendancy, and zeros-and-ones rule the day. The long battle between the Cryppies and the Intel bean-bags is far from over, but they are clearly on top at the moment.

I am hoping that JoeMaz is wrong, and someone in authority will remember, like Chester Nimitz did long ago, that it helps to have someone in the room who actually has an idea what it going on, and what is going to happen next.

Of course, the world being the way it is at the moment, that doesn’t include me. I am going to make some popcorn and watch the election returns come in, see if the North Koreans are going to launch more missiles today, and wonder about all that stuff that the Iranians took off the US Navy when they captured those two patrol boats. It is as humiliating as the capture of the Pueblo all those years ago. A professional embarrassment.

I wonder if the intelligence officer got a chance to talk to the Commander and the crews of those two ships before they headed off into the Persian Gulf? Hell, I wonder if they even had one.

Copyright 2016 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com