Q&A: Vice Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr.
Written by Diana McGonigle
Strengthening the Navy Through Higher Learning
Vice Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr.
Chief of Naval Personnel
Deputy Chief of Naval Operations
(Manpower, Personnel, Training & Education)
Vice Admiral Harvey was interviewed by MAE Editorial Coordinator Diana McGonigle.
Q: On an average, how many Navy personnel are currently taking advantage of government-supported higher education for both professional and personal development, and what are the estimates on what the Navy spends annually on higher education? How much is spent as part of the Navy recruitment incentive packages?
A: Education is extremely important to the sailors taking the classes, and also to the Navy. As more and more sailors continue to take advantage of the educational opportunities offered through various programs, the Navy will continue to grow in technical expertise and experience. The amount of money invested in training and educating our sailors pales in comparison to the benefits the Navy receives with a smarter, more capable force.
Our investment in education includes programs provided by the Naval Postgraduate School, our Naval War College, and selected civilian academic institutions, as well as an enlisted sailor commissioning program, tuition assistance and our Navy College Program for Afloat College Education. This year, almost 93,500 active duty members [officers and enlisted] will participate in some form of advanced education at a cost of almost $224 million dollars. Approximately 1,400 are full-time students; the others are pursuing their education during their off-duty time. Almost 27 percent of our active duty force is participating in some form of higher education.
Education and training are strong incentives for joining the Navy. The Navy College Fund and the Montgomery GI Bill are wellknown programs many enlisted personnel cite as reasons for joining the Navy and cost the Navy an average of $5 million per year. Our major recruiting incentive program for officers is the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. The Navy spends about $84 million a year on tuition for midshipmen. The Navy has about 4,214 midshipmen in NROTC, and commissions about 1,040 of them each year.
Q: How has distance learning changed the military’s direct involvement with institutions of higher learning?
A: Distance learning has strengthened the Navy’s involvement with institutions of higher learning because our people now have more opportunities for taking classes and earning degrees even when they cannot physically attend the school. The Navy continues to focus on the instructional needs of our sailors, and the expansion of distance learning opportunities has resulted in a greater number and a higher quality of academic courses offered than ever before.
Both the Naval War College [NWC] and the Naval Postgraduate School [NPS] now have Colleges of Distance Education whose delivery methods include video teletraining, Internet, CD-ROM, Web-enabled, face-to-face and personal data assistant, resulting in a blended solution. Civilian academic institutions are also supporting us in the transition.
While the schools and technology have changed, the adult student has changed as well. We have found that many of our military students are more comfortable with the use of technology; however, distance learning is not for everyone, and that’s why we also focus on the instructional needs of the student rather than on the technology itself. We also want to ensure that the distance learning courses offered by academic institutions have some form of interactivity between the students and the instructor/professor to help our military students succeed.
Q: As part of their career path, naval officers look to colleges and universities to provide part of their growth. Do you find your officers gravitating toward any particular fields?
A: In the past, the actual major has not been as critical as the degree. The Navy is now looking for more mission-related degrees, and we value the breadth and depth of education as much as we do the actual degree attainment. The needs of the Navy drive most of the results. Officers who attend full-time education programs, including those at NPS, selected civilian institutions or NWC, participate in degree programs that are designed to meet skill requirements necessary to accomplish the Navy mission; however, the Voluntary Education Program still allows any sailor the opportunity to pick and choose the degree. Our professional military instruction continuum is designed to encourage junior officers to focus on technical degrees and the more senior officers on management, leadership and business degrees. In addition, the language and cultural awareness education requirement is prompting an increasing number of officers to pursue education and degrees in these areas. We expect that number to increase significantly in the next few years.
Q: Do you conduct Lean Six Sigma training or send people to outside institutions?
A: The Navy has developed a course for senior officers that covers a variety of process improvement programs that are available. The Navy also developed a beginning course, the Navy Productivity Improvement Awareness Course, that is available online at the Navy’s Web portal https://wwwa.nko.navy.mil. Some sailors attend industry training to gain instructor skills to allow them to train others in the Navy. The goal is to train the workforce in process improvement and to develop a mindset of process improvement throughout the entire Navy.
Q: Are there any trends as to when officers are more likely to seek higher education?
A: The trend for higher education seems to be at the lieutenant to lieutenant commander [03-04 grade] level for officers, and at the petty officer first class [E6] and above level for enlisted. It is clearly beneficial for officers to participate in continuing education throughout their career. Education improves performance, especially in advanced leadership positions in the Navy.
Q: Do you think that the military colleges, such as the Naval War College, compete with private institutions for the officer on a strong growth track? Does a degree from one institution carry weight over that of another?
A: Service war colleges do not compete with private institutions because their role, mission, and focus are absolutely unique and not duplicated elsewhere. The mission of the Naval War College is to educate tomorrow’s leaders of our Navy by providing them a foundation on the principles of war and strategic thought, particularly as it relates to the maritime environment, and to define the future Navy. By law, the Naval War College is the only institution of its kind to provide advanced joint education with a maritime influence.
Q: Does the Navy have any contracts with particular institutions for specific career fields where it sends most of its candidates for those fields?
A: The Navy partners, via memorandums of understanding [MOUs], with a variety of institutions to provide graduate education for officers in the areas of homeland security, education and training management, public affairs and many technical fields. On Navy installations, the Navy also partners with institutions through MOUs to offer a range of off-duty education programs from associate to graduate degrees. The Navy also authorizes tuition assistance for any college courses taken at academic institutions whose accreditation is recognized by the Department of Education.
We contract with a few institutions to deliver training at the undergraduate level in addition to offering off-duty education at sea. The Navy has a unique program, Navy College Program for Afloat College Education that is designed for our sea-going sailors. We have a contract to offer instructor-delivered courses and distance learning courses in several fields/degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Instructors actually ride aboard our large ships to teach classes. Regular distance learning courses are available on all ships, regardless of size.
Q: Do you think the mechanisms and processes that a sailor has to go through to get reimbursed for their education expenses are as user-friendly as they could be? Do you foresee any changes to that system?
A: Navy support for education expenses is provided up front; we do not require sailors to pay first and then be reimbursed.
Q: What advice would you offer aspiring career officers and enlisted men and women on how to take advantage of what the Navy has to offer and how to apply it to their future?
A: Higher education enables our people to think critically and make the best decisions in an ever-changing, complex, and volatile world. The ability to intellectually understand our threats and missions and apply the right resources to meet them is developed through many higher education programs.
The Navy needs future leaders who are capable of leading and directing a global organization, working with other services and other nations in an environment characterized by uncertainty, risk and a wide range of cultural sensitivities. Our people must be equipped to perform at high levels in a multitude of disciplines. It has been repeatedly proven there is a direct relationship between lifelong learning, leadership skills and the capacity to succeed in the future. Well-educated people make faster and higher-quality decisions, lead teams more effectively, and think more creatively and critically. They make learning a life-long habit, they learn more quickly and more effectively, and they are therefore more adaptable and responsive to change. The aspiring career sailor, officer and enlisted, as well as the Department of the Navy civilian, must partner with the Navy to continuously learn, first in his or her operational specialty, then by developing the leadership competencies through advanced education that will enable them to lead the Navy in the future. The Navy understands this, believes in the correlation between education and improved performance, and rewards continued involvement in education throughout a career. ♦