Region EURAFSWA Concludes Executive Steering Committee

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS160609-04
Release Date: 6/9/2016 10:24:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joe Bishop, Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia Public Affairs

NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia (EURAFSWA) concluded their Executive Steering Committee (ESC) Friday, June 2 in the Bella Napoli Conference Room at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Naples, Italy.

"This was the region's first ESC under Rear Adm. Williamson and it was purposefully designed to be different from any Executive Steering Committee we've conducted in the past," said Paula Monachelli, deputy director, Strategy & Future Requirements (N5) Navy Region EURAFSWA and facilitator of the ESC. "Our regional commander had a specific vision for this meeting -- a focus on that middle word in the title, 'steering.'"

The ESC aimed to circulate information and EURAFSWA priorities as well as discuss risk assessments and lines of effort for the future. It was an effort to work toward what the CNO's new Campaign Design For Maritime Superiority calls "high velocity learning." High velocity learning applies the best concepts, techniques and technologies to accelerate learning as individuals, teams and organizations. Rear Adm. Rick Williamson, Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, led the committee through the three-day event.

"We focused on identifying the best concepts, techniques, and technologies that currently exist at our installations," said Williamson. "Now we can begin the process of standardizing those best practices and increase our efficiency, which will ultimately increase the combat effectiveness of forward deployed naval forces that operate within our region. It is high velocity learning."

Once the fleet understands and sees the increase in efficiency and their combat effectiveness increases, said Williamson, the fleet will better understand how the shore supports their mission.

This was Williamson's intent as he sat down with the commanding officers of the eight EURAFSWA installations, a region which encompasses a geographic area spanning three continents, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf, and from Northern Europe into Africa.

"The commander's intent is an important piece of this meeting for any regional commander," said Capt. James Craycraft, commanding officer of Naval Support Facility, Deveselu, Romania. "Each one of us needs to communicate our commander's intent so that the people who work for us are very clear on which way we need to go and why we need to get there."

The eight installations that provide critical shore support to U.S. and allied operations, the expanse of EURAFSWA includes critical choke points such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Bosporus Strait. EURAFSWA's Sailors, civilians, and host nation employees provide support to the fleet with air operations, security, safety, housing, Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR), Fleet and Family Support Programs, and fuel and logistics of installations in the operational theater of Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia.

"We're going to test all this," said Williamson. "We're going to bring it back and op-test it for a while, and then we're going to decide if it got better or it got worse. We want to understand the lessons of our own region's history, so we don't have to relearn them."