Photo By Richard Allen | Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport engineer Travis A. McCune,...... read more read more
NEWPORT, R.I. — Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport engineer Travis A. McCune, former head of Undersea Warfare Mission Engineering, recently was accepted into the Department of Defense (DoD) Senior Leader Development Program (DSLDP), a highly competitive program that develops senior civilian leaders to excel in joint, interagency, and multinational environments.
The program provides a unique opportunity for career development with both classroom and experiential training. McCune will start his long-term training in August at the Eisenhower School in Washington, D.C., and along with a cohort of 30 people, he will work to develop solutions for real-life DoD challenges.
“Leadership development programs like this one offer unmatched opportunities for professional growth,” said Donald McCormack, Executive Director, Naval Surface and Undersea Warfare Centers. “What’s just as important as the real-world projects you work on are the contacts you make with future leaders from other services. Those connections and the networks you establish become increasingly important as you progress in your career.”
McCune, a resident of North Kingstown, R.I., will transition from his position at NUWC to five days a week in a classroom setting. The two-year program also features a four- to six-month experiential piece during which McCune will work with either the Army or Air Force to expand his capabilities.
“This holistic approach will empower participants to think strategically, envision what is on the horizon, and formulate proactive, competitive solutions that produce results for the DoD and the nation,” the program’s overview states.
“The point is to do something outside your comfort zone,” McCune said.
After speaking with a NUWC recruiter at a job fair, the 2001 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate ended up applying his computer engineering degree working for what is now the Undersea Warfare Combat Systems Department.
McCune completed his first of four off-site assignments in 2004 when he relocated to Washington for a year to support the Submarine Combat System Program Office (PMS 425).
In 2009, he applied for a science advisor position with the U.S. 7th Fleet and spent three years in Japan aboard the USS Blue Ridge.
“You get so much operational experience as a science advisor,” McCune said. “It’s hard to duplicate. People benefit immensely from operational experience.”
He returned to NUWC Newport in 2012 and worked for the Sensors and Sonar Systems Department on the anti-submarine warfare mission package for littoral combat ships.
In 2014, he accepted another assignment in Washington, this time working for the Director of Warfare Integration (OPNAV N9I).
“I was the I&I (integration and interoperability) person at the Pentagon,” he said. “I was this USW (undersea Warfare) guy working on air and surface systems.”
Last September, an email was sent to all 10 warfare centers looking for applicants to the DSLDP. McCune said he had never heard of the program but after reading about it, felt compelled to apply.
The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) selected from a pool of applicants and soon McCune had a phone interview with a member of the Senior Executive Service. Following that interview, McCune learned he was accepted into the program – he just had to find out what school he was slated to attend. In June, he was notified that he would be attending his first-choice school – the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, part of the National Defense University.
“Most people haven’t heard of it. It’s next door to the National War College,” McCune said. “The Eisenhower School adds defense industry resources to strategy. It’s more focused on research and execution aspect to national strategy.”
The expectation of people who complete the program is to go on to become an SES, as DSLDP strives to enhance people’s executive core qualifications.
“If you’re weak in one area, you can help yourself through this program,” McCune said. “It makes you better qualified to be a senior leader.”
Having completed the first of three seminars, McCune is looking forward to learning from his fellow students, which include professionals from the Army, Air Force, Navy, DoD intelligence community and Office of the Secretary of Defense.
“There’s great discussion on different experiences. I love that not everyone is technical, not everyone is acquisition, and we still had common experiences to share,” McCune said.
While still forming a career plan, McCune said he enjoys working on programs and projects that contribute to the warfighter, and that will continue to be his goal.
“I want to have that ability to take a four-star’s strategy or vision and turn it into tangible actions and understand how it affects workforce development, equipment, logistics across the spectrum,” he said. “You learn how to take high-level strategy and figure out what that means to execute. How does the national security strategy impact us? You have to understand how to implement it. It’s a complex, adaptive system of systems. When you look at past leaders of the Navy, they’re able to do that. Future Navy leaders will have to do that from a technology and a societal standpoint.”
NUWC Division Newport, part of NAVSEA, is one of two divisions of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. NUWC Division Newport’s mission is to provide research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, undersea offensive and defensive weapons systems, and countermeasures. NUWC’s other division is located in Keyport, Washington.
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.08.2018 16:18 |
| Story ID: | 287886 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RI, US |
| Hometown: | NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI, US |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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