Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Executive Agent for RRL
Vision and Guidance
for Ready Relevant
Learning
Improving Sailor Performance and Enhancing Mission Readiness
August 2017
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Table of Contents
Letter from the Executive Agent .........................................................................................................2
Origin and Vision ...............................................................................................................................3
Sailor 2025 ................................................................................................................................................ 3
Ready Relevant Learning ........................................................................................................................... 4
Vision for Ready Relevant Learning .......................................................................................................... 4
Key Elements of Ready Relevant Learning ................................................................................................ 5
Operational Imperatives ....................................................................................................................7
Stop the Bleeding ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Meet Rapidly Changing Warfighting Requirements ................................................................................. 8
Align Training with Deckplate Needs ........................................................................................................ 8
Create a Modernized Learning Continuum ............................................................................................... 8
Key Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................................................................9
U.S. Fleet Forces Command ...................................................................................................................... 9
Fleet Commanders’ Readiness Council (FCRC) ......................................................................................... 9
Navy Capability Board (NCB) ..................................................................................................................... 9
Executive Steering Committee .................................................................................................................. 9
Working Groups ...................................................................................................................................... 10
Governance Structure ............................................................................................................................. 10
Approach ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Stage 1: Block Learning ........................................................................................................................... 13
Stage 2: Enhanced, Accessible Learning ................................................................................................. 15
Stage 3: Modernized, On-Demand, Fleet-Responsive Learning ............................................................. 18
Assessment...................................................................................................................................... 19
Capturing Benefits and Mitigating Unintended Consequences .............................................................. 19
Assessing Our Progress in Execution ....................................................................................................... 20
Assessing the Relevance of the Strategy ................................................................................................ 20
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Origin and Vision
Our Sailors are the lifeblood of our Navy – past, present, and future. Yet when we look at the system we
use to attract, train, and inspire America’s best and brightest to serve and stay Navy, we find our current
capabilities, like all platforms and technologies facing the challenges of a new age, are in need of an
upgrade. The time to evolve our approach to personnel management and training is now.
Sailor 2025
Sailor 2025 is the Navy’s program to improve and modernize personnel management and training
systems to more effectively recruit, develop, manage, reward, and retain the force of tomorrow. We are
focused on empowering Sailors, updating policies, procedures, and operating systems, and providing the
right training at the right time in the right way to ensure Sailors are ready for the Fleet.
Recruiting, developing and retaining the right
number of Sailors with the right skills to man our
force demands innovation built on a framework of
three pillars: Personnel System Modernization,
Ready Relevant Learning, and Career Readiness.
While the Navy is in a good position today with
respect to recruiting, retention, and manning, we
are at a strategic cross-road where we need to think
about how we will conduct business for the Sailors
of the future.
PERSONNEL SYSTEM MODERNIZATION. Our personnel
initiatives are aimed at empowering Commanding
Officers, developing flexible policies, increasing
transparency, providing better tools to Sailors and leadership, and giving more choices to Sailors. To
continue to recruit and retain the very best talent, we need modern policies and retention tools that
offer flexibility and choice to Sailors. We are modernizing our personnel polices to give Sailors more
control and ownership over their careers, as well as allow the Navy to adapt to economic changes and
corresponding effects on the recruiting market and retention. Within this pillar, multiple initiatives are
underway to expand opportunities for professional development and advancement, revamp our pay and
personnel systems, and enhance career flexibility.
CAREER READINESS. Our goal is to enhance the readiness of Sailors by better developing our leaders,
building a team that looks like the nation we serve, and removing obstacles that negatively influence a
Sailor’s decision to stay Navy when they are looking to start or raise a family. We also recognize that
leveraging our diversity is crucial to reaching our potential. Leaders generate success and achieve
unparalleled performance when they tap into the energy and capability of an actively inclusive team,
leveraging all dimensions of diversity to improve our warfighting capacity and readiness.
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Ready Relevant Learning
The third pillar of Sailor 2025 is about driving fundamental changes into our approach to Sailor training.
The goal of RRL is to provide the right training at the right time in the right way. To accomplish this, we
will develop a career-long learning continuum for every Sailor, modernize training to maximize impact
and relevance, and accelerate our processes for delivering new training to the Fleet. This will transform
our industrial-era, conveyer-belt training model into a modern one, with content that meets Fleet-
validated learning needs, in order to improve Sailor performance and enhance mission readiness.
Vision for Ready Relevant Learning
As we embark on this journey, it is important to keep in mind the desired end state—Sailors who are
better prepared to fulfill their real-world job duties in the Fleet. We recognize that today’s legacy
training does not take full advantage of existing and emerging technology for knowledge transfer and
skill development. The long-term vision for Ready Relevant Learning includes the preservation of current
approaches to training where it makes sense to do so, while also driving a significant evolution in our
approach to Sailor development that is deeply rooted in the science of learning. As depicted below, this
evolution will include the development of a training ecosystem that makes training as relevant and
accessible as possible, in order to increase the readiness of Sailors to perform at the highest levels of
proficiency in their current roles, while also preparing them for future roles and assignments.
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Key Elements of Ready Relevant Learning
RRL is a holistic approach to reimagining how the Navy trains its Sailors, representing a significant
change from the ways Sailors have been trained in the past. Specifically, RRL will change (1) when we
provide training, (2) how we deliver training, and (3) how we keep that training as relevant as possible to
the real-world needs of the Fleet. These changes require sustained focus across three lines of effort:
career-long learning continuum, modern delivery at point of need, and integrated content development.
CAREER-LONG LEARNING CONTINUUM. RRL will transform our current training model to deliver training
across the continuum of a career using modern learning techniques that improve comprehension and
retention of knowledge. Today, Sailors receive the majority of their rate and technical skill training
during their accessions path prior to reporting to their first Fleet unit. This training often covers
knowledge and skills that Sailors will not perform during their initial assignments. Additionally, while in
the accession pipeline, most Sailors lack the on-the-job context and Fleet experience necessary to make
training beneficial. RRL seeks to change that approach. Under RRL, accession Sailors will only receive
training that is appropriate for the jobs and duties they will perform in the first two years of their first
tour. Then, follow-on training will be provided at later points in their careers when they will be expected
to apply new knowledge and skills.
MODERN DELIVERY AT THE POINT OF NEED. RRL will change how training is delivered to Sailors by taking
advantage of emerging learning technologies to allow Sailors to receive training more efficiently,
whether at the waterfront or aboard their operational units. These training solutions will make training
more efficient by minimizing the need to return multiple times to a brick-and-mortar schoolhouse. In
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addition, RRL will align training to the specific point of need in the Fleet. By identifying the specific time
when a Sailor will be expected to demonstrate proficient performance against a specific knowledge area
or skill set, the associated training will be scheduled so as to be delivered prior to the point of need, but
not so far in advance that the knowledge or skills have atrophied due to lack of use. The intent is to
provide a continuum of training over an entire career that gives Sailors the knowledge and skills they
need when they need them, rather than over-training too early, or leaving Sailors to attend to their own
ongoing development without ready access to a robust inventory of materials and tools.
INTEGRATED CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. In a rapidly changing world, our approach to training development
and delivery must be agile enough to adapt to the shifting needs of the Fleet, while also integrating new
technologies wherever possible to accelerate learning. This requires shifting away from the current
stove-piped approach to training development. We must adjust MPT&E processes and standards to
support ongoing development of both our training content as well as our delivery methodologies. Also,
we need to align and standardize Resource Sponsor and Program Office processes related to training
development and delivery. If we get this right, we will (1) significantly reduce the cost associated with
content development, (2) significantly decrease the time it takes to get the most relevant training to the
Fleet, and (3) establish a Rapid, Responsive Content Control authority to drive continual improvement in
the relevance of training content and the methods by which training is delivered to the Fleet.
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Operational Imperatives
This initiative will require significant effort over a sustained period of time by multiple stakeholders, so it
is important that we are clear about the reasons why we are doing this, and we must keep these
operational imperatives continually in mind as we work through the challenges of execution.
Stop the Bleeding
Based on recent analysis at Navy Personnel Command (NPC), the Navy brings in approximately 40,000
people in any given year, and 30,000 or so are in training at any given time, out of a Total Force of about
326,000. Therefore, peak operating efficiency of the Fleet, based on manpower gaps due to training
requirements alone, is only about 90%, and about 75% of our newest Sailors are away from their units
for training and not contributing in any way to their mission readiness.
In addition, NPC analysis has shown that the Navy annually absorbs approximately 4,000 man-years of
loss, largely due to congestion and delays in our training pipelines. Standard planning factors would put
the financial impact of these losses at well over $400 million per year.
These are unsustainable figures for the Navy. We must work to pick up the pace and get more out of
our training. This means having better insight into the talent and skills of Sailors coming into the Fleet,
but also recognizing that training from boot camp all the way to the Fleet and beyond has to
fundamentally change in order to stanch the outflow of resources due to pipeline inefficiencies.
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Meet Rapidly Changing Warfighting Requirements
Ready Relevant Learning will transform our legacy training architecture into an agile continuum of
learning that supports the increasingly complex needs of our Sailors and the Fleet. While our current
training is working, we see changes that will stress its continued effectiveness. The combination of
emerging threats, complex missions, and new technologies demand that our recruits learn faster on the
job and master new skills over the course of their careers. Education offers an asymmetric advantage in
developing leaders and instilling in them attributes necessary to innovate, adapt, and succeed today and
in the future. As a strategic investment that enhances force effectiveness and supports global
operational excellence and dominance, education provides Sailors with relevant knowledge, skills, and
abilities; ties educational opportunities to leader development; and builds a robust framework of
technical experts, joint warfighters, and strategic leaders capable of winning the high-end fight.
Align Training with Deckplate Needs
We must provide training opportunities delivered at the point of need, when and where a Sailor is ready
to learn. This will not only help us attract and retain a diverse and educated workforce, but it will allow
us to develop Sailors in a way that best meets real-world work requirements in the Fleet. Also, we must
be more efficient with a Sailor’s time by delivering training when they have the context and experience
to apply the learned skills. Ready Relevant Learning will be delivered in the right place, at the right time,
and in the right way to ensure that knowledge is refreshed to remain relevant in increasingly dynamic
operational environments, with evolving platform capabilities and emerging warfighting technologies.
Create a Modernized Learning Continuum
Fundamentally, RRL is about the concept of taking our learning, determining what is most important at
what milestone in a Sailor’s career, analyzing how best to deliver that training, and then delivering it as
close as possible to the point of need. We must move away from the industrial model that has been in
place for well over half a century, where we bring new recruits in, give them the vast majority of their
technical training in the accession pipeline, and then send them out to start their career path. Because
Sailors may not use much of that training until they are in the Fleet for three, four, or five years, the
knowledge and skills they acquired will atrophy through lack of use. We must attend to the professional
development of our Sailors in a much more economical way, applying a rigorous science-of-learning
approach to using technology where appropriate to move training closer to the actual point of need in a
career, and closer to the point of performance in the Fleet. Increasing accessibility of training on the
waterfront and underway will significantly reduce the time, cost, and operational impacts of bringing
Sailors to the training. We must bring the training to our Sailors.
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Key Roles and Responsibilities
This is an ambitious undertaking with aggressive timelines that require synchronized coordination across
multiple stakeholder groups, each with its own unique set of interests and decision-making authorities,
all in the interest of meeting diverse sets of Fleet requirements. This requires a governance structure
that facilitates tight coordination and collaboration within relevant lines of authority, while maintaining
the ability to adapt as unanticipated needs and challenges emerge in execution.
U.S. Fleet Forces Command
USFF N00 is the Executive Agent (EA) and supported commander for the Ready Relevant Learning (RRL)
pillar of Sailor 2025. As such, USFF is responsible for developing implementation strategy and guidance,
and overseeing execution of coordinated learning activities across the Navy. USFF will acquire resources,
direct work, and ensure vertical and horizontal alignment of RRL stakeholders with Fleet requirements.
The EA is the supported commander for RRL. Supporting commands include CPF, DCNOs, SYSCOMs,
CNPC, CNRFC, CNRC, CNETC and Force Type Commanders.
Fleet Commanders’ Readiness Council (FCRC)
The FCRC is a forum that includes Fleet Commanders, OPNAV staff, Type Commanders (TYCOMs), and
System Commanders (SYSCOMs) who develop integrated solutions to Fleet-wide issues necessary to
support mission effectiveness and sustain readiness wholeness. FCRC will ensure that RRL execution
positively affects Fleet Readiness by exercising decisional authority for issues that have impacts beyond
approved scope, schedule, or costs.
Navy Capability Board (NCB)
The NCB includes representatives from OPNAV N80/N10, all Resource Sponsor organizations, and
USFF/CPF. They are responsible for determining resources required at each phase of RRL, and working
within individual warfare areas to provide solutions for their aligned rates.
Executive Steering Committee
The purpose of the Executive Steering Committee is to provide a forum where key stakeholders come
together to identify and monitor the assumptions, constraints, and restraints that are shaping the design
and execution of the implementation strategy. Specifically, the ESC will articulate RRL objectives,
requirements, programs, and policy, and USFF will assess RRL performance and effects. The ESC
redirects efforts as necessary, and prepares recommended changes to RRL policy and resourcing levels
to the FCRC as needed. Also, ESC coordinates RRL impact across all Navy and DoD systems and processes
(e.g. DRRS, CeTARS, FLTMPS, NTSP, ITRO, etc.).
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Working Groups
Working Groups have been created in the following functional areas: information architecture, content
modernization, manpower, distribution, acquisition, and others. These groups are responsible for
designing and implementing solutions within their functional areas of responsibility. The Strategy and
Assessment Working Group will provide overall direction, oversight, and coordination.
Governance Structure
As the CNO-appointed Executive Agent for RRL, USFF will execute its responsibilities through a multi-
layered governance structure that engages appropriate stakeholders, aligns execution with Fleet
requirements and priorities, and establishes a disciplined approach to resource acquisition and
allocation that preserves decision-making authorities at the appropriate levels.
As learning technologies continue to mature, and as the learning needs of the Fleet continue to shift in
response to changing warfighting requirements and emerging platform capabilities, our understanding
of the relevant training requirements and their implications will continue to evolve. Likewise, as
reflected in the image below, our governance structure must be able to evolve over time, with some
Working Groups being created to address unforeseen areas of interest as they emerge, and other
Working Groups sun-setting once they have accomplished the outcomes delineated in their charters.
Just as important, especially when the scope and scale of the work are likely to change over time, the
top layers of the governance structure must remain stable in order to preserve the Commander’s Intent,
provide efficient resolution of any issues as they arise, and ensure close alignment with Fleet priorities.
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FLEET COMMANDERS’ READINESS COUNCIL. The FCRC is the highest level of the RRL governance structure,
and will be reserved only for those decisions that exceed the authority of the Executive Steering
Committee. Also, the FCRC will provide strategic oversight of RRL, ensuring consistent alignment with
Fleet priorities, and reviewing decision recommendations brought forward by the Executive Steering
Committee, and vetted by the Navy Capabilities Board and the Readiness Requirements Review Board.
EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE. The ESC is the second-highest level of the RRL governance structure,
and the level at which most issues related to RRL planning and execution will be handled. For issues that
require higher-level adjudication, the ESC will prepare recommendations for review and endorsement
by the Navy Capabilities Board (NCB) and the Readiness Requirements Review Board (R3B). The ESC is
co-chaired by the Director of Fleet Personnel Development and Allocation (USFF N1) and Commander,
Naval Education and Training Command (CNETC).
STRATEGY AND ASSESSMENT GROUP. The SAG drives day-to-day alignment and execution of all RRL work
streams. Acting in alignment with the guidance and oversight of the ESC, FCRC, and the CNO-appointed
Executive Agent for RRL, the SAG will develop and guide the implementation of the strategy and
roadmap for RRL by providing program-management oversight to direct and coordinate all RRL Working
Groups. The SAG will prepare regular, recurring reports for the ESC to keep them abreast of progress
and challenges, elevating any issues that require higher-level review and approval. The SAG is led by the
Director of Fleet Personnel Development and Allocation (USFF N1).
WORKING GROUPS. These groups comprise the tactical level of the governance structure. They will
execute their responsibilities in accordance with their respective Working Group charters, and they will
prepare recommendations for the Strategy and Assessment Group on any issues that exceed their
decision-making authority.
Working Group
Lead
Purpose
Information Architecture
NETC CIO
Create information architecture to
support RRL vision and requirements
Content Modernization
NAWC-TSD
Design, develop, and deliver modernized
training content and performance support
Manpower
OPNAV N12
Update manpower policies and processes
as needed to support execution
Distribution
BUPERS PMO
Update distribution policies and processes
as needed to support execution
Acquisition
OPNAV N12
Update acquisition policies and acquire
hardware to support RRL requirements
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Approach
Our journey toward the Ready Relevant Learning environment of the future will take time, and it will
require the development of supporting information architecture along with the clarification and
refinement of some current training policies, in addition to the development and delivery of new and
modernized training content. Therefore, our roadmap includes multiple waypoints, where we will be
able to assess progress and make adjustments as necessary to ensure that our approach and the
products we are developing remain aligned with the mission needs of the Fleet and our Sailors.
As we move to RRL, our approach to individual Sailor development will move through three stages of
evolution. As illustrated above, these stages will overlap, and the lines of effort will be interdependent,
but the overall arc of the journey will be as follows. First, we will shift to a “Block Learning” approach, in
which current training will be linked to the real-world points of need, and all training requirements will
be validated by Fleet experts. In the “Enhanced, Accessible Learning” stage of evolution, we will
integrate our largely disaggregated system of independently-operated databases, and modernized
training will be available at the waterfront to minimize the operational impact of training on the mission
readiness of Fleet units. Finally, in the “Modernized, On-Demand, Fleet-Responsive Learning” stage of
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evolution, training content will be accessible where and when needed, and a Rapid Responsive Content
Control Authority will drive continual improvement in our training systems and process while also
delivering new and updated content to the Fleet much faster than current systems and processes allow.
Stage 1: Block Learning
The first stage of the transition to Ready Relevant Learning is a shift to what is called Block Learning. In
this stage, current accession-level training is analyzed to link all learning objectives as tightly as possible
to the real-world points of need in a Sailor’s career. In this phase, key activities include rating reviews
and content re-alignment.
RATING REVIEW ANALYSIS. This activity entails the detailed analysis of learning objectives and content to
align current training as closely as possible with the real-world work requirements of Sailors in the Fleet.
All current training will be analyzed by relevant Fleet experts as well as specialists in the science of
learning to identify which content should be preserved in the accession pipeline (that is, prior to a
Sailor’s first operational assignment), and which content should be moved to a more appropriate time in
the Sailor’s career in order to minimize the atrophy of knowledge and skills. Recommendations for
content re-alignment will be reviewed and endorsed by Fleet stakeholders before being presented to
the Executive Steering Committee and FCRC for final approval.
CONTENT RE-ALIGNMENT. This activity entails re-aligning training content in accordance with the findings
of the Rating Review Analysis. In this step, the only thing that will be changed is the timing of training.
There will be no change at this point to the training itself. In other words, the training that is moved to
the Sailor’s operational tours will
be conducted at the same
locations (primarily schoolhouses)
and using the same delivery
methods (primarily instructor-led,
classroom-based training) as the
training that remains in the
Sailor’s accession pipeline.
As illustrated here, by moving
training from the accession
pipeline to a point during the first
or second operational tours of our
Sailors, we create an opportunity
for Sailors to get to their units
sooner with the knowledge and
skills they need in their first one or two years onboard. Then, follow-on training is scheduled at a point
when it will be most useful and relevant to Sailors, supporting their ongoing professional development,
and preparing them for peak performance in emerging roles.
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HIGH-LEVEL OPERATIONAL CONCEPT. The following image is intended to provide a pictorial representation
of “what it will look like” when we achieve full implementation of the “Block Learning” stage of
evolution. Although a graphic alone is not sufficient for capturing all of the technological, organizational,
process, or policy issues related to this transition, the purpose is to put this stage of evolution in context,
and provide a tool for cultivating shared understanding of the outcomes to be achieved.
The most significant change in this stage is that Sailors in many rating specialties will no longer get all of
their technical training before reporting to their first operational unit. Instead, Fleet subject matter
experts and certified learning specialists will identify the knowledge and skills required for full
performance in the first two years of service, and all Sailors will complete that training before reporting
to their first operational unit. Then, Sailors will complete follow-on training to develop new knowledge
and skills closer to the time of actual need based on their expanding roles and responsibilities.
Although we will continue using legacy systems in this stage to manage ongoing Manpower, Personnel,
Training, and Education (MPT&E) processes and requirements, we will begin laying the groundwork for
future database consolidation by transforming manpower data elements as needed to facilitate RRL
implementation. For example, NECs will be sub-divided to reflect the Block Learning construct so that
manpower systems can automatically track the progress of Sailors through the first phases of the
learning continuum.
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Stage 2: Enhanced, Accessible Learning
In this stage, we will integrate a disaggregated system of independently-operated databases to make
training more accessible at the waterfront, and we will modernize training content across the career-
long continuum of learning for every Sailor. The content-modernization process is defined as analyzing
and optimizing the media types, media modes, and delivery methods of performance-centric training
content and delivering it at the ideal time and in a location convenient to the Sailor, either at the
waterfront or in the actual work environment. This process takes advantage of modern technologies to
deliver training in the most effective way based on key principles of the science of learning. The content-
modernization process is a multi-phased effort, as illustrated and described below.
KNOWLEDGE CAPTURE. This phase identifies the “what” of Ready Relevant Learning. Working primarily
with our schoolhouses, Learning Centers, and Systems Commands, analysts will examine current course
content, as captured in classroom presentations, models, whiteboard drawings, demonstrations, videos,
labs, assignments, instructors’ elaborations and explanations, and published training objectives and
course guides, as well as technical manuals, personnel qualification standards, and occupational
standards. Also in this phase, analysts identify detailed task descriptions; capture photos of systems,
equipment, and components; identify any pre-requisites or tacit knowledge requirements; and identify
gaps and overlaps in job sheets used during instructional labs. These efforts establish the exact scope
and span of the knowledge and skills that will need to be addressed by the RRL training solution.
DOMAIN ANALYSIS. This phase identifies the “when” of Ready Relevant Learning. In other words, this
phase includes Fleet subject matter experts and certified instructors in the process of conducting
detailed analyses to identify when it would be most appropriate to train specific knowledge and skills
based on a close examination of the real-world performance requirements of our Sailors. Specific
products generated by this analysis include lists of curricula performance objectives and related task
steps, decision trees to be used for mapping tasks to compatible training media and data-collection
requirements, and a detailed understanding of the career paths available to Sailors within a given
technical specialty.
MEDIA ANALYSIS. This phase identifies the “how” of Ready Relevant Learning. Based on initial findings
from the domain analysis, analysts will examine available and emerging instructional media technologies
(e.g., game-engine based simulations, adaptive/intelligent instructional content, and mobile platforms)
to select the most appropriate delivery method for each learning objective in order to optimize training
effectiveness, based on science of learning insights as well as environmental and cost constraints.
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CONTENT CONVERSION. This is the phase in which new RRL content is actually created. This includes the
design, development, and delivery of the modernized content that will be delivered to Sailors over the
course of their career-long learning continuum. A wide variety of modalities and methods will be used to
design approaches to training and human performance improvement that can be delivered in the right
place, at the right time, via the most effective means for our Sailors.
STRATEGY SELECTION. Four broad categories of human performance and training solutions will be used to
drive selection of the most effective and efficient approach for a given learning need: Instructor-
Facilitated Interactive Training, Self-Directed Interactive Training, Performance Support, and Structured
On-the-Job Training.
These broad categories allow RRL to use Navy and industry best-practices while providing innovative
development and deployment of training content. As new technologies are proven and become
available, they will be placed in one of the four categories and sub-processes will be refined to include
them as potential options for future training solutions.
Multiple strategies may be combined as a training solution. For example, PS for part repair may be
included within an SDIT learning module for whole engine diagnostics and repair. Regardless of the
strategy selected, RRL content will provide training to support the full spectrum of work performance,
from the simplest to the most complex tasks, by taking a systematic approach to identifying which
strategy or strategies are most appropriate to maximize job readiness.
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HIGH-LEVEL OPERATIONAL CONCEPT. The following image is intended to provide a pictorial representation
of “what it will look like” when we achieve full implementation of the “Enhanced, Accessible Learning”
stage of evolution. Although a graphic alone is not sufficient for capturing all of the technological,
organizational, process, or policy issues related to this transition, the purpose is to put this stage in
context, and provide a tool for cultivating shared understanding of the outcomes to be achieved.
The most significant change in this stage of evolution is that modernized training content will be
available at the waterfront, so that Sailors will no longer need to travel to rating-specific schoolhouses to
get the training they need. Instead, they will be able to access self-directed training and performance
support while pier-side, and they will be able to attend instructor-facilitated training at nearby training
centers. This change will significantly reduce the operational impacts of individual training requirements
on Fleet units. Instead of Sailors needing to take time away from their units to go to training, this is the
stage in which the training starts going to the Sailor.
In addition, this is the stage in which the information architecture underlying individual training begins
to change in substantive ways. The largely independent databases that are used to manage MPT&E
processes will be integrated into a system of databases, and “Learning Stacks” will be implemented to
enhance accessibility of training and enable the scheduling, delivery, and tracking of training.
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Stage 3: Modernized, On-Demand, Fleet-Responsive Learning
This stage represents the culmination of the RRL journey. At this point in the evolution of RRL, all
training content will be accessible to Sailors where and when they need it, and new training will be
delivered to the Fleet much faster than current training systems and processes allow.
Also in this stage, the career-long learning continuums for Sailors will be expanded to include technical
and non-technical training alike, and Sailors and their supervisors will have increased control over the
timing and pace of their individual development. In addition, a Rapid Responsive Content Control (R2C2)
authority will be established to drive ongoing improvement of both the content of training and the
methods for delivering that training to our Sailors.
Finally, this is the stage in which the information architecture that enables individual training will be
fundamentally transformed. Specifically, a Navy-wide solution, called the Total Learning Architecture,
will enable real-time scheduling, delivery, tracking, and assessment of training across all communities.
Through the high-bandwidth, two-way data flow enabled by this system, Sailors will be able to access
the training they need when they need it, where they need it in order to meet Fleet-driven
requirements.
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Assessment
This strategy will be reviewed by the Executive Steering Committee on a regular, recurring basis to
monitor progress in execution, while also gauging the overall relevance of the strategy. The Strategy and
Assessment Group will be responsible for developing comprehensive Measures of Performance and
Measures of Effectiveness to provide qualitative and quantitative assessment across DOTMLPF pillars.
Capturing Benefits and Mitigating Unintended Consequences
Any time a change is made to a complex system, that change has the potential to create unanticipated
ripple effects across the whole system. The purpose of the two-tiered approach to holistic assessment
described below is to create a framework for detecting and addressing not only issues and obstacles
that are hindering execution, but also any early indicators of unintended consequences. The complex
system into which RRL is being introduced is a socio-technical system in which technology is only a part
of the story. Other system components include numerous social, cultural, and political elements, and we
understand that a change in any of these parts could unintentionally disrupt overall system health.
This change will operate on core characteristics of our overall military system, including career
progression for Sailors and operational autonomy for our units and unit commanders. In cases like this,
the system often finds a way to push back against the change, especially if changes tend to be
incompatible with the states and behaviors of other system elements, all of which have co-evolved over
time to adapt to demands on the system, operating conditions, and one another. Some examples of
current system characteristics that could be affected by these changes to training include:
Instructor control and flexibility to teach as they see fit
Number of Sailors available to fill operational billets
Number and timing of unfilled billets across OFRP
Variability in time required to complete training requirements
Number of shore-based billets
Career progression opportunities
Role of experienced senior personnel as resources and mentors
Sailor readiness for operational assignments
Sailor marketability for high paying technical jobs upon leaving the military service
Although all changes contemplated in this strategy are for the express purpose of improving the
readiness of our Sailors and the Fleet, it is nonetheless possible for an improvement to one aspect of the
system to negatively impact another. Therefore, our approach to assessment is designed to give senior
leaders visibility into the nature and causes of issues as they emerge, while also providing the
information needed to set priorities and make fully-informed decisions about any tradeoffs that may be
required to drive progress while preserving the intent and purpose of the of the strategy itself.
20 | P a g e
Assessing Our Progress in Execution
We will assess the effectiveness with which we are executing the strategy. Execution reviews will be
conducted at least quarterly, with Working Groups briefing status, trends, issues, and next steps within
their areas of responsibility to the Strategy and Assessment Group. The purpose of these reviews is to
track status and progress toward goals, therefore Working Group goals and progress metrics will be the
focus of these reviews. At a minimum, each Working Group will brief the following information:
Progress Summary (Schedule and Budget)
Accomplishments this Period
Significant Problems/Actions Taken
Planned Accomplishments next period
Known Risks and Mitigation Plans
Known Issues, Status, and Next Steps
Assessing the Relevance of the Strategy
In addition, we will conduct recurring assessments of the enduring relevance of the overarching strategy
itself. These reviews will be conducted semi-annually, with the Strategy and Assessment Group and
Working Group leads briefing the impacts of any shifts in the internal or external environment, and
preparing recommended adjustments to the strategy to address these impacts for the consideration of
the ESC and FCRC. The purpose of these reviews is to validate the enduring relevance of the strategy.
Therefore, the focus of these reviews will be the facts, assumptions, restraints, and constraints that
steer the strategy, as well as the alignment of the strategy with Navy priorities and Fleet requirements.
As we assess the enduring relevance of the strategy and our approach, we must keep constantly in mind
the key benefits that RRL is designed to achieve: improving the individual performance of Sailors, and
increasing the mission readiness of the Fleet.
