PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Our Navy’s mission at Patuxent River is one we are all genuinely proud and

honored to be a part, because we truly appreciate how vital it is to our country. We are privileged to be entrusted with the duty of directly supporting the men and women of our nation who selflessly place themselves in harm’s way to ensure our country remains strong, safe, secure and free.

And ultimately, our responsibility to support and promote that vital mission at Patuxent River is also a key to our community’s well-being and its future ... so it is a responsibility in which we are determined and unwavering in our commitment.

2013 has been an unusually difficult and uncertain year in many ways, and unfortunately there was little we could do at our levels to mitigate those difficulties and uncertainty except to keep ourselves focused on the future. Declining budgets, sequestration, unclear national priorities, etc. will likely continue to challenge many of us in 2014. However, as we look to the new year, I think it’s important to take the opportunity to capitalize on the fresh perspective and good feeling that a new year brings and refocus our outlook ... based not in 2013 adversity and uncertainty, but more upon the possibilities for our future, both near and long term.

I envision a new year of open and honest dialogue with our NAVAIR and NAS partners about their near and long term strategy areas, and how we collectively can move forward with a renewed sense of strength, clarity and certainty. At a couple of recent forums, VADM Dunaway and his leadership team spoke about three Strategic Priorities that are the core of their Long Range Planning effort that was recently published :

People, Integrated and Inter-operable War-fighting Capabilities (IWC), and Affordability.

People: We will break down barriers and distractions and give our people the training, development and tools to be more productive. We will increase teamwork, collaboration and sharing of lessons learned across programs, competencies, teams to help people solve problems. We will encourage innovation and risk-taking (balanced with safety) to improve productivity and speed.

IWC: We will provide our Competencies the “context” they need to see how their work contributes to overall mission effects. This understanding will help increase teamwork and collaboration across teams and programs; and unleash tremendous energy, creativity and innovation. We’ll discover different ways of doing business that are much more efficient and effective.

Affordability: There are two parts to affordability: 1) reducing life-cycle costs of our weapons systems; and 2) breaking down barriers to productivity. We will systematically chip away at bureaucracy and eliminate non-value added activity wherever possible to ensure every dollar invested contributes to an increase in war-fighting capability.

As supportive community and industry partners, it’s paramount for us to have a clear understanding and appreciation of the direction and course NAVAIR plans to steer in support of national priorities. We need to fully embrace those decisions regarding the future focus of Naval Aviation, the work NAVAIR is committed to, in support of that future, the investments they intend to make and the help they expect and need from us.

As in the past, NAVAIR is counting on us to help facilitate achievement of key strategic priorities as fully aligned community and industry partners. Because as a community and industry, it’s our role and responsibility to be ready and willing to change, transform, evolve ... whatever it takes to best support

the Navy’s mission and goals here at Patuxent River. We can only do that by continuing a close and consistent dialogue based upon trust, mutual respect and teamwork ... so as we look to 2014 as an Alliance, we will do just that with a clarity of vision, a sense of promise and a renewed and fresh outlook knowing that every environment no matter how challenging is also filled with opportunity.

Ultimately, we know we must continue our community efforts to diversify and strengthen our regional economy, and although many good things are happening in that regard (which you can learn more about in the Annual Report), we still have much to do. Our continued success in maintaining Patuxent River’s strength as a national asset depends upon our ability to successfully leverage all of our inherent capabilities and wealth of diversity to create an environment of success.

With all that said, it’s your uncompromising support that enables us to pursue our all-important mission and responsibility. And on behalf of your Board of Directors team, I thank you sincerely for your investments in time, ideas, work, effort, membership and funding. I’m confident that with your continued support we will always turn every challenge to opportunity and ensure the well-being of our Navy’s mission, our industry and our community.

In closing ... as we embark on this New Year, we still have many of our fellow Americans serving far from home and in harm’s way. I know that each of you continue to keep them in your hearts, thoughts and prayers.

Very Respectfully,

CAPT Glen Ives, USN (Ret.)President

SOUTHERN MARYLANDNAVY ALLIANCE

The Southern Maryland Navy Alliance Exists to Protect and Enhance Naval Aviation and the Military Economic Base in Our Region.

Quarterly Report Winter 2014

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND UAS TEST SITE JOINS THE MID-ATLANTIC AVIATION PARTNERSHIPOn the path to autonomy research and economic diversificationBy Matt Scassero

In many endeavors you hear the oft-quoted line from Field of Dreams, “build it and they will come.” In this case the quote would have to be rewritten to “build it and get out of the way, because they are at the door and breathing down our necks!”

What “it” is means the University of Maryland Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site, and it is in the process of standing up as a resource to government agencies, academia and commercial industry for research into any and all aspects of UAS. A primary focus of that research is integration of UAS into the national airspace, under the FAA UAS Test Site program. While our Maryland proposal as a test site was not accepted, we are a partner to the Virginia Tech-led Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), which was one of the six selected FAA test sites. Via an MOU that was signed in September 2013, Maryland now enjoys an equal partnership with Virginia and New Jersey in this exciting endeavor, and is able to directly affect the outcomes in an area that will have tremendous impact on our lives in the future.

The vision of the MAAP is to serve as a recognized leader in the UAS sector by providing the safest, most efficient and effective, full-spectrum UAS services while creating economic, research, educational and training opportunities. It will do that through both the research activities that are focused on a safety-focused, risk-based approach to integration, as well as leading research, development and commercialization beyond NAS integration, and promoting the products and services offered

2

BASE REALIGN-MENT AND CLOSURE (BRAC) COMMITTEE UPDATEBy Pete Williams

The political scene for the next round of Base Realignment and

Closure (BRAC) closures has remained relatively unchanged since our last report. The Department of Defense leadership continues to ask for a BRAC, but Congress has consistently blocked all efforts in initiating another round. Given the pressures on the defense budget, however, it is highly likely that there will be another BRAC within the next few years and it is necessary for us to be proactive in shaping the future of our region. We have done well in previous BRACs, but that will be no guarantee for future success because we can expect the criteria to be different in the next one.

With the continued pressures of Sequestration, however, the Department of Defense could close facilities without a formal BRAC authorization or permission from Congress. Section 2687 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code gives authority to the Secretary of Defense to close facilities with the only restriction being that a notification be sent to Congress. So technically the Pentagon and the White House could shut down facilities unilaterally and dare a gridlocked Congress to undo their actions.

The SMNA BRAC Committee continues to monitor the situation and is working with State, Military and Local leaders to shore up the Patuxent River NAS Complex. We are not only concerned about the effect that the loss of Department of Defense work would have on our economy, but also truly believe that Southern Maryland provides the geography, skilled workforce, intellectual capital, facilities and ranges that will give the best value to the American taxpayer.

As we wrote in the 2012-2013 Annual Report, our BRAC Committee is working

with the Public Private Solutions Group (PPSG) in preparing a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis report for our region. The final report is expected to be completed in the March timeframe. This report will be very useful for us to identify the areas that could work against us in the next BRAC, and in identifying how our strengths can be used to provide new opportunity. The BRAC Committee’s activities over the past few months have been focused on providing information for this report and preparing for its release. The information contained in the report will be shared with the Patuxent River and County leadership, and when it is received, the committee will shift its focus to creating a plan of action centered on the report’s recommendations. These are uncertain times, but one of our great strengths is the high level of collaboration that we have amongst the various groups and agencies located in Southern Maryland, and we look forward to continuing to coordinate this very important effort.

3

by the assets in our region. Key to that will also be aggressively promoting and supporting the development of a highly trained UAS workforce. These goals mirror many of the objectives of our own regional approach, so this is truly an easy match. The fact that we are receiving incredible support from all levels of government, academia and industry gives us that much more confidence in our success.

As we go forward creating and executing MAAP there will be many opportunities for contributions from you. Whether your concern is with FAA rulemaking, research into commercial applications, business development, or education and training, there will be many ways to make your voice heard and create impact. My goal as the Director of the test site is to make that process transparent for you and show you those pathways. As I have said before, we are strong not just because of our physical infrastructure here in SoMD, but even more so because of our human capital. Open lines of communication will bring that human capital to bear.

Building on the interest generated by the FAA UAS test site program, UMD continues to focus on creating an autonomous technology research environment that brings that human capital into a supportive arena, capitalizing on past performance, cutting edge resources and creating new partnerships that embolden our collective impact. We are using a variety of paths to get there, and you will hear more in the near future about some of those efforts as they get ready for primetime. At this point, suffice to say we are generating tremendous interest and looking at specific cooperation amongst county, state and federal government agencies, education resources and industry partners. Grant programs, university funding, commercial

opportunities, and more are being brought together and concentrated on this area.

All of this supports a broader vision of what our region can become. This area was once dominated by farming and watermen. Currently we are surrounded by a military dominated market. The reality is that we need to support the farmers, the watermen, and ALL markets

in our community, PLUS build new markets that take advantage of all of the efforts and projected customers that are already beating down our doors to start working in the autonomous technologies field, as well as shield us from the effects of defense budget adjustments. The beauty of this approach is that it actually ties together those various constituencies. The first and largest

Triton is one of the first UAS that was designed from the ground up with the intent to be a partner to a manned platform, the P-8 Poseidon.

NAWCAD is pioneering efforts to join the forces of both unmanned and manned aircraft to work together towards common operational goals. UCLAS, the follow-on fleet platform to the X-47B demo, pictured above, will be a primary mark of that mission-sharing effort.

Article Continued from Page 2

4

commercial uses of UAS will be precision agriculture. Very easily that extends to natural resources management and aquaculture, fisheries, etc. Our innovative thinkers and doers that have empowered the safe, efficient and effective revolution in military operations, both inside and outside the fenceline, are poised to apply themselves to these new endeavors, and are supported by their leadership in doing so.

This is a very exciting time to be involved in unmanned systems and autonomous technologies, and there is no better place to be doing it than here in southern Maryland. So many aspects of our community are aligned on the same goals, and the avenues and resources are there to make it real. Leadership will make that happen, and that is what we do here.

Researchers are experimenting with the use of unmanned aircraft such as this Yamaha RMAX Type IIG for agricultural use. These platforms are equally well suited for other natural resource management uses.

Article Continued from Page 3

THE U.S. NAVY’S NEW SUBMARINE HUNTER IS A MODEL FOR SUCCESSBy Everett Pyatt, Real Clear Defense, Jan 7

On time, on budget, passed operational testing for effectiveness and suitability, and now on initial deployment

in Japan, the Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft is a replacement for the Navy’s fleet of P-3 Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft introduced in 1962. This $32 billion program is a real success for the Navy and the country.

The program is being executed as planned in 2004 with about 100 aircraft to follow initial production aircraft now being deployed. Given the recent acquisition record, there may be no similar successes in the foreseeable future.

Introduction of the P-8A’s advanced anti-submarine, anti-surface ship and surveillance capabilities is particularly timely.

Regarding anti-submarine warfare, there are many new submarines now entering navies. In particular, the Chinese Navy has embarked on a major submarine building program, including development of submarines carrying strategic nuclear missiles.

Moreover, China is one of several countries developing a new type of air-independent submarines using fuel cells as the

means of propulsion. They are reported to be far quieter than older conventional submarines and, therefore, less detectable. The P-8A includes new active sonobuoy systems allowing the aircraft systems to “ping” against a suspected threat as well as listen passively. Combined with the aircraft endurance and airborne refueling capability, these systems will allow long-term surveillance not possible with current aircraft. The P-8A will help to establish a new standard of airborne capability complementing already formidable U.S. submarine and surface ship capabilities (though the U.S. still needs a real anti- submarine frigate).

The P-8A supports anti-surface ship action, carrying radar for detection and Harpoon anti-ship missiles for engagement if necessary. Pirates and other renegades have to fear the air and there is no hiding on the ocean.

Electronic surveillance capabilities round out the situational awareness for the crew and associated units.

In the political-military sense, the timing of the first deployment to Japan is significant. It is a clear indication that the United States plans to stay involved in preserving international freedom of the seas in East Asia and will not defer to Chinese attempts to expand ocean control beyond internationally recognized limits.

How was this success made possible? There are several key factors.

First, risk was controlled by basing the aircraft on the commercial

5

Boeing 737. The airplane was modified to include weapon and sonobuoy launch capabilities. Airframe was strengthened to support military tactics. Mission equipment was evolutionary from current equipment.

Second, the program manager was allowed control over specifications causing undue costs or systems that demonstrated inadequate performance. Navy management made it clear that cost control was essential.

Third, aircraft production was integrated into the 737 production line, providing commercial pressure to control cost.

Fourth and most important, the program manager did not change during the development process, assuring constancy of purpose for the duration.

In an unusual move, Navy promoted the program manager, rather than thanking him and offering retirement.

All of these conditions are not possible in other programs, but

they provide important conditions for success.

Currently the Defense Department has an aggregate of over $400 billion of cost growth in the major systems category. These lessons of risk control, specifications management, performance proof, cost control and managerial continuity should be applied to all defense programs. It is time for action, rather than the current rationalization that all programs grow.

The P-8A program proves this attitude is dead wrong. Congratulations to all who participated in the Navy, in Boeing, and all the other program contractors.

I salute you.

Everett Pyatt is the Leader of the Project for Defense Management and Acquisition Leadership at the McCain Institute for International Leadership, a part of Arizona State University. He is formerly Assistant Secretary of Navy and Navy Acquisition Executive.

These photos show the arrival of the P-8. Photos taken over Patuxent River.

Article Continued from Page 4

6

BROADENING THE LOCAL ECONOMYBy Robin Finnacom, Acting Director, St. Mary’s County Department of Economic Development

St. Mary’s County Commissioners will appoint an Economic Development Commission to oversee the development of a

strategy designed to lessen the County’s dependency on defense spending. St. Mary’s County has one of the few “stand alone” economies in the State of Maryland. Over 80% of the County’s economy is tied to the economic engine which is the Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River.

As the County’s largest employer, NAS will continue to be the backbone of the local economy. Over dependence on any one employer, however, leaves a community vulnerable to decisions over which there is little control as we now see with the reduction in national defense spending.

Diversifying the economy has been one of the County’s stated objectives for several decades. The rapid growth of the Navy’s presence brought about BRAC decisions triggered a significant economic surge in St. Mary’s and diverted meaningful attention from this important task over the last 20 years. The Pentagon’s determination to substantially reduce defense spending coupled with the spending constraints tied to sequestration, have awoken us to the reality that broadening the County’s economy is imperative for the future of our community.

The Economic Development Commission will be composed of individuals representing a broad swath of the community. Specifically, the Commission will include those with experience in technology transfer, defense, retail and service, workforce development, tourism, agriculture, labor and higher education. A minimum of 51% of the members of the Commission must be from private industry providing a unique opportunity for the business community to infuse the development of the strategic plan with practical approaches to business growth.

The strategic plan will address how we can leverage current assets to promote internal job growth and investment, address the needs of the underemployed by strengthening middle income job opportunities and identify milestones for gaging the effectiveness of a plan of action intent on broadening the County’s economy over time. The development of the strategic plan requires us to assess current conditions, identify challenges and opportunities to economic growth, engage the public in defining expectations for the future and develop a plan to achieve the community’s goals and objectives.

The economic strategy will focus on how we can build upon our strengths while creating new markets for business growth. The Navy’s growing emphasis on unmanned and autonomous systems is an example of technology that can be used for purposes other than defense. Transportation and agriculture are but a few of the industries that can benefit from the use of unmanned or autonomous systems. Knowing this, can we develop a strategy to capitalize on unmanned systems to support local agriculture? Can we create a commercial market for this technology while also modernizing farm land production in a community that places a high value on its rural character? What would we do to advance such an opportunity?

On an entirely different front, the number of hotels and restaurants available locally has increased substantially over the last ten years. The growth of these amenities is clearly tied to the expansion of NAS Patuxent River. Restaurant and hotels, however, are critical pieces of infrastructure necessary to increasing tourism and travel to our County. With these assets, the Department’s Tourism Division is now marketing the County to the wedding industry as an ideal location for rural and rustic waterfront and historic settings for the “big day.” The wedding business is a steadily growing source of travel to St. Mary’s County filling our restaurants and hotels on the weekends while continuing to provide ample space to support defense related trips to NAS during the weekdays.

Tourism related visitation to St. Mary’s County increased by 27% between 2008 and 2012 which accounted for $143M in direct spending in our community in 2012 alone. Just think how visitation will increase with the opening of the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum and Visitors Center!

While increased tourism to our County may seem like a small dividend, it illustrates the “dual use” thinking that we must apply to broadening opportunities for business growth in St. Mary’s. Working with our existing assets and building upon our known strengths will play a pivotal role in the creation of a plan to diversify the local economy.

The Economic Development Commission’s meetings will be open to the public and the public will have many opportunities outside of Commission meetings to participate in the development of the economic strategy for the County’s future. We hope

you will contribute your best thinking to this effort. For more information and to participate in the County’s economic development planning initiative, contact the Department of Economic and Community Development at 301-475-4200. We can’t reach the future without you!

7

A warm welcome to the newest members of the Navy Alliance, and a special thank you to

our renewing members.

Accenture Federal Services

Bowhead Science and Technology

GE Aviation Military Systems

Raytheon Company

Precise Systems

NEW MEMBERS [Amelex

AM Pierce & Associates

Ausley & Associates

Booz Allen Hamilton

Burch Oil

Cedar Point Federal Credit Union

Cherry Cove

Coalition Solutions Integrated, Inc.

College of Southern Maryland

Community Bank of the Chesapeake

Compass Systems

DCS

DDL Omni Engineering Corporation

Dial & Associates

General Dynamics Information Technology

RENEWING MEMBERS ManTech International Corporation

The MIL Corporation

Northrop Grumman

PAE Applied Technologies

PNC Bank

Raley Watts & O’Neill

R Cubed

Research & Engineering Development (RED)

SAIC

SMECO

Specialty Systems

Taylor Gas

Technology Systems & Business Solutions

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Glen Ives, President

Ken Farquhar, Executive Vice President

Christine R. Wray, Secretary

Bob Russell, Treasurer

Ed Sierra, Immediate Past President

BOARD MEMBERS & COMMITTEES

Lisa Clark, UAS

Larry Egbert, UAS

Tom Garrison, Irregular Warfare/Rapid Response

Greg Gillingham, Encroachment

Tom Jarboe, BRAC/EUL/Infrastructure

Brian Norris, BRAC/EUL/Infrastructure

Bruce Orjada, BRAC/EUL/Infrastructure

Alan Parris, Irregular Warfare/Rapid Response

Adelle Pierce, Contract Support Services

Dawn Rich, Membership Committee

Michael Wettengel, BRAC/EUL/Infrastructure

Pete Williams, BRAC/EUL/Infrastructure

Bob Wirt, Contract Support Services

BOARD LIAISONS

BGen Mike Hayes, USMC (Ret.), DBED Liaison

Thomas O. Evans, DBED Liaison

John Bohanan, Congressman Hoyer’s Office

Rachel Jones, Senator Mikulski’s Office

Sue Kullen, Senator Cardin’s Office

Todd Morgan, St. Mary’s County

Rebecca Bridgett, St. Mary’s County

Robin Finnacom, St. Mary’s County

Danita Boonchaisri, Calvert County

Deb Stone

SOUTHERN MARYLANDNAVY ALLIANCE

Agreement Signed to ConStruCt uSm Building At Southern mArylAnd higher eduCAtion Center

Leaders of the University System of Maryland (USM), Southern Maryland Higher Education Center (SMHEC) and Southern Maryland Navy Alliance (SMNA) signed an agreement on terms for a new building at the SMHEC campus in California, MD during a ceremony at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Chesapeake Biological

Laboratory. The agreement fulfills the requirements set forth by the Maryland General Assembly for $1.5 million in planning funds for the USM to plan a building for additional higher education programs, research, and incubator activities on the SMHEC campus.

Currently, SMHEC’s 24-acre campus comprises two buildings, built in 1994 and 2003. SMHEC hosts more than 90 graduate university degree programs and 13 bachelor degree programs, facilitated by 10 university partners in the greater Washington-Baltimore corridor (including several USM institutions).

A third building at SMHEC would address multiple higher education needs in the region. It would help to meet the need for additional classroom and laboratory space. Moreover, such a building would support the research and development needs of the nearby Patuxent River Naval Base complex by adding space to accommodate research and a business incubator.

“Since long before its incorporation in its present form in 1988, the University System of Maryland has been providing students from across the state with an education that is second to none,” said Congressman Steny Hoyer. “Our students graduate ready to compete for the best jobs and ready to be innovators and entrepreneurs. Today’s agreement will bring more opportunities to Southern Maryland families and provide our students with the world-class education that the University System of Maryland provides. This partnership dovetails with many of the other initiatives we have undertaken to make Southern Maryland more competitive and attract the jobs and opportunities that sustain a strong middle class. I thank Dr. Brit Kirwan, Dr. Pat Florestano, Joe Anderson, Glen Ives, and Delegate John Bohanan for their work in reaching this agreement, and I will work with them and all stakeholders to continue expanding access to higher education here in Southern Maryland.”

“Southern Maryland is such a vital economic region for our state. Enhancing the higher education resources in our area through the addition of this new building at SMHEC is critically important to our continued growth,” Del. John Bohanan said. “Each year, more of our economic development stems from higher education, and the University System of Maryland is a powerful economic engine.”

“The USM is committed to delivering high quality, affordable and accessible higher education and spurring economic development throughout the state of Maryland, and this agreement is a critical step forward in enhancing our service to the citizens of Southern Maryland,” said USM Chancellor William E. “Brit” Kirwan.

Photo Credit: Darwin Weigel Calvert Recorder