HISTORY
Admiral Hayward established the Chief of Naval Operations’ (CNO) Strategic Studies
Group (SSG) in 1981.
  The
early SSGs contributed to the conceptual underpinnings for the emerging Maritime
Strategy. Over the years, work continued in the areas of national security and military
strategy.
Revolutionary innovation has been the key to U.S. naval supremacy. A key to past,
successful innovations was the iteration of thought between operators, technologists
and analysts. The operator brought "unarticulated requirements" to the table. The
technologist brought emerging and existing technologies. Analysis blended the two.
Only after considerable iteration did new thinking, combining the unarticulated
requirement and technology, result in what became major naval warfare innovations.
In 1995, Admiral Boorda transformed the SSG into a group whose sole mission is the
generation of revolutionary naval warfare concepts. The process for this effort
includes:
- Exploring innovations in naval warfighting
- Developing warfighting concepts
- Underpinning these concepts with technologies
- Establishing criteria to evaluate these concepts in operational experiments
- Recommending actions directly to the CNO.
While the SSG title remains, the Group is more appropriately characterized as an
"Operational Research and Concept Development Center".
The SSG resides at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Only the CNO
tasks the SSG and the SSG reports directly to him. The CNO personally selects Navy
Fellows and invites the Commandants of the Marine Corps
and Coast Guard to nominate officers to serve
as Fellows. The Fellows have 10-month assignments. The President of the Naval War
College and the Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School work with the SSG's
Director in selection of Associate Fellows who have 7- and 6-month assignments,
respectively. Scientists and Analysts are nominated by the Navy's Systems Commanders
and Laboratories to the SSG's Director. They serve for 2 years, and then return
to their parent organizations. Operators, scientists, technologists, and analysts
working in collaboration is a powerful approach for developing warfighting innovations.
The SSG works closely with the CNO Executive Panel; OPNAV Staff; Naval War College;
Navy Warfare Development Command;
Naval Postgraduate School; Chief of Naval Research,
all Systems Commands and their field activities; Joint and other service staffs;
operational commanders; DOD, national public and private sector Research Centers
and Laboratories; U. S. Government entities; as well as non-governmental and foreign
organizations; and the private sector in accomplishing its tasking.
The SSG convenes in Newport in early October. Following teamwork training and exposure
to conceptual thinking, the Fellows are introduced to current doctrine and future
warfare implications through interactions with senior military, business, and academic
leaders, and through visits to military, scientific, and commercial organizations.
In December, the Associate Fellows join the CNO Fellows in Newport. Shortly thereafter,
the SSG conducts a technology assessment and forms first operational, then functional
Concept Generation Teams (CGTs) to develop innovative naval warfighting concepts
for the 21st Century.
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