Pursuing the Mission to Modernize, Innovate, and Defend
January 28, 2021
On January 27, INSA Executive Vice President, John Doyon, sat down for a Wednesday Wisdom conversation with Vice Admiral Jeffrey Trussler, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, N2/N6, and Director of Naval Intelligence, to discuss the present opportunities and challenges facing the Navy.
ADM Trussler discussed the Navy’s top priorities in FY21, highlighting efforts aimed at supporting the CIO’s navigation plan, as well as the cooperation and collaboration between the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps to reinforce a resilient web of command and control platforms. He also discussed Project Overmatch, an effort aimed at linking data and information from weapons systems, sensors, and platforms to decision makers. ADM Trussler emphasized the Navy’s commitment to supporting this strategy by targeting investments toward this objective.
Noting the cybersecurity challenges of operating in the digital age, he underscored that cyber is, and will remain, a battle every single day. To address cybersecurity challenges, the Navy is working to identify high-risk systems using a risk management approach to evaluate vulnerabilities with agility and efficiency. ADM Trussler emphasized the importance of collaboration with industry to tackle some of the most significant cybersecurity challenges.
Discussing the Navy’s response to great power competition, he emphasized the need to leverage the IC workforce and the Navy’s global presence and expressed confidence in the ONI's ability to sift through vast amounts of maritime intelligence to provide decision advantage.
The discussion also highlighted some of the Navy’s challenges and opportunities for change presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. ADM Trussler noted the challenges associated with working with classified material in a virtual environment, but also emphasized opportunities to adopt and integrate collaboration and communication tools and change the way business is done for the better.
ADM Trussler concluded the conversation in stating what a privilege it has been to support the Navy and the intelligence and national security community at large. As Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, N2/N6, he noted that the information warfare community is young, but rapidly expanding and working towards growth every day.
In the Media
U.S. Admiral: China Can 'Keep Pouring Money' Into Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles (USNI News)