TOP NAVY OFFICIAL VISITS

CRANE - The current Chief of Naval Operations made his first trip to Crane and walked away from the southern Indiana base with a good impression on Tuesday. Admiral John Richardson visited the base at the request of Indiana U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly and was also joined by Congressman Larry Bucshon.

“This was a great day, not only to see the supreme talent that’s resident here, but also to see the dedication of the people here,” said Admiral Richardson. “They will go to the last molecule of their energy to make our nation safer and to bring our people back safe and sound.”

The admiral was particularly impressed with the 2,000-member workforce and its effort for the warfighter.

“They do their work through the entire life cycle of their product, including going down range into Iraq, into Afghanistan to make sure no detail is overlooked in the performance of our Navy and our armed forces,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges facing the Navy and Crane is moving technology from the development side to the field as quickly as possible.

“There is a lot of energy being expended to make our processes go faster,” said Admiral Richardson. “The environment in technology is moving very quickly. We’re challenged with that in defense acquisition. There’s a lot of people working hard on that.”

The admiral, though, discovered that Crane is finding ways to streamline the process of converting new technology into actual field use.

“What is clear from just the day that we spent here is that the team here at Crane has figured that out,” said Richardson. “They have a micro-environment of very fast learning, very fast technology improvement and they have found clever ways to make them real here on the Crane facility and then get them into the hands of the warfighters around the world. That’s part of the remarkable thing they do here at Crane; not just the generation of ideas and technology, but the distribution into the hands of our sailors very, very quickly.”

Sen. Donnelly noted that Crane has a reputation for getting developments off the drawing board and into the hands of those who need it in the field and on the ships.

“The people here have terrific relationships with all parts of the Navy,” said Donnelly. “Communication from Crane to the Navy operates at light speed. Sometimes it is as though we are on a ship right next to the one we’re working on.”

After a day at the Crane base, the CNO is trying to figure out how to expand the Crane methods.

“My impression is how do I take what I see here at Crane and scale that up and get the whole Navy to move at that speed,” said Admiral Richardson.

While the work at Crane is important to the Navy and the nation’s defense, it is also a big part of the economic well being of southwestern Indiana. Officials point out that is part of the reason for bringing the CNO in for a look at the operations.

“To have the Chief of Naval Operations at Crane is a special day,” said Donnelly. “We have had a chance to have the admiral see the amazing work being done here, the work to keep our warriors safe, the work to protect our men and women whether they are in the air, on the ground or on the sea. These people are giving everything they have on behalf of our country. To have Admiral Richardson here is special to all of us because he leads our Navy.”

“This is an important visit,” added Congressman Bucshon. “I’d like to thank the CNO for being here and seeing the amazing work that’s done here by Hoosiers and the commitment they have to the mission and the warfighters protecting this country.”