WASHINGTON -- The Department of the Navy's first Senate-confirmed Senior Military Acquisition Advisors (SMAA) joined the Assistant Secretary of Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) staff this month. This program established in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 is designed for senior officers within the acquisition community to provide strategic, technical, and programmatic advice to their Service Acquisition Executive with the option of serving as adjunct professors at Defense Acquisition University.
U.S. Navy Capt. Stephen Murray and U.S. Marine Corps Col. Dave Burton were selected by a panel of flag and general officers to provide senior level acquisition expertise to ASN RDA.
"Both of these officers are very successful acquisition professionals," said Vice Adm. Mike Moran, Principal Military Deputy ASN RDA. "Their selection as the Department of the Navy's first SMAAs speaks not only to their superb careers, but the tremendous value they will bring to the Department of the Navy for many more years."
Capt. Murray will assume a key leadership role as a Military Deputy on the recently established Deputy ASN Sustainment staff. He will be responsible for long term surface ship/submarine maintenance planning, industrial base coordination, and shipyard improvements for Fleet readiness. Capt. Murray will also assume a lead role on the new Sustainment System Working Group (SSWG), established to address systemic readiness issues across the naval enterprise. Capt. Murray has extensive fleet and acquisition experience, and just completed a very successful tour as a Major Program Manager for Surface Ship Readiness and Maintenance.
Col. Burton will assume a key leadership role as the Military Deputy on the Department of the Navy's new Project Overmatch Organization, which supports Navy and Marine Corps Distributed Maritime Operations and integration with the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) program. He will be responsible for integrating current Marine Corps and Navy networks and services to enable a future common operational architecture. Col. Burton's decades of operational and acquisition experience uniquely qualify him for this role along with his very successful tour as a Major Program Manager for Intelligence Systems.
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition serves as the Navy Service Acquisition Executive (SAE). ASN RDA has authority, responsibility and accountability for all acquisition functions and programs, and for enforcement of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment procedures. The Assistant Secretary represents the Department of the Navy to USD (A&S) and to Congress on all matters relating to acquisition policy and programs.
The Assistant Secretary establishes policies and procedures and manages the Navy's Research, Development and Acquisition activities in accordance with DoD 5000 Series Directives. The Assistant Secretary serves as Program (Milestone) Decision Authority on ACAT IC programs and recommends decisions on ACAT ID programs.
