17 August 2012
MEMORANDUM
From:
To: Associate Director of Research and Scholarship for Internships & Technology Transfer
Via: (1) LCDR Jason Chiodi, USN Department of Political Science Internship Coordinator
(2) CDR Tom Robertson, USN Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Internship Coordinator
Subj: AFTER-ACTION REPORT FOR INTERNSHIP, SUMMER 2012
Ref: (a) COMDTMIDN/ACDEANINST 1531.73A
A. Summary Information:
1. This After-Action Report (AAR) is provided in accordance with reference (a).
Internship details:
Location: CNO Executive Panel (N00K)
Dates: 23 July – 16 August 2012
B. Technical:
1. Title of Project: I worked on several studies over the course of my internship, most significantly those regarding female officer policies and Navy energy security.
2. Objectives: The studies were all at different stages of completion, but all of them ultimately aimed to organize, facilitate, and provide research support for the panel members’ analysis of the issues and recommendations to the CNO.
3. Approach: We coordinated with other offices and with our panel members and used CNO feedback to shape the direction of our studies.
4. Accomplishments and My Contributions to the Project, Publications and/or Presentations: I worked on energy security talking points for the CNO, several action memos for the CNO, a powerpoint presentation on energy security initiatives, plenary session topic possibilities, and an economic intelligence report on Japan, among a few other small assignments. My host for the energy security study and I would sometimes discuss the issues involved and how to best move forward with the study. I was able to provide some feedback on the female officer policy study. I was responsible for knowing and presenting the material within the energy security study’s research binders.
C. Administrative
No additional security clearance was required, but I did have to spend the first few days getting into the NMCI network. I didn’t have access to my computer for the first three days while my requests for access were being processed. I spent around $200 on transportation to and from work, between metro fares and gas money. I spent around $75 on food for the month because I was staying with my aunt and only had to buy groceries some times.
D. Evaluation
1. Relevance:
This internship was relevant to being a well-rounded, knowledgeable naval officer. I developed a better understanding of how the Navy fits into the whole government picture, as well as the roles and significance of several different organizations and departments like ONR, all the different N-codes, U.S. Institute of Peace, the State Department, USAID, SSG, etc.
Exposure to the Pentagon was also valuable, as it is a crucial hub of Navy and DoD activity and policy.
2. Impact:
Having the opportunity to interact with officers and civilians from many different backgrounds and of all different ranks helped me solidify my interest in becoming a SWO. Specifically, I had a lengthy conversation with CDR Granger, Deputy Executive Assistant to the CNO, during which he was very open and honest about his experiences as a SWO. The XO of N00K also took a particular interest in imparting candid wisdom and advice from his time in the Navy, which was generous and appreciated. I gained an understanding of the wide variety of issues facing the CNO each day, as well as the extent of his responsibilities (e.g. he is not creating policies for US-China relations).
3. Level of interest/challenge:
Everyone in the N00K office treated me like an action officer and gave me substantial assignments instead of having me make coffee or photocopies. They actually valued my opinion and would frequently ask me what I think about different topics. I was hoping to work on the PLA-N study more, but unfortunately, the study was at a point where there wasn’t much I could contribute. I wish I could have attended an event or two at a think tank in DC, but there was a limited selection during the weeks I was here. The ones that sounded really interesting to me occurred earlier in the summer or were scheduled for a few weeks after I left. I was challenged by having to find the significant and relevant points in a whole host of very boring, lengthy documents about policy and public law. We had to use them to shape the direction our study was going, and it was difficult to find in them the few most important implications which would support a point we wanted to make to our panel members or to the CNO.
The N00K members challenged me to think critically about my assignments instead of just looking for information to complete the task. They asked me to evaluate and analyze what I was doing to make sure it was going in the right direction and that we weren’t missing something that might be important to include. I was most engaged in the internship when I had the opportunity to switch from one project to another and receive fresh assignments. For about a week straight, I was working on one specific assignment for energy security, a relatively long-term study, and it was difficult to see the impact my work would have.
E. Recommendation(s)
I think it would have been better to have been here with another midshipman. It would have been nice to have some sort of gauge for how I was doing with my assignments and in what areas I could have engaged more. I think the other midshipmen were able to bounce ideas off one another and help each other out with assignments, which is something that would have been nice to have.
If at all possible, please continue to make efforts to allow the future interns to attend the spring plenary session. N00K’s work and relationship with the panel would have made much less sense to me had I not seen how the panel, staff, and CNO operated all together during plenary.
F. Other
Thank you very much for the opportunity to engage in such a meaningful internship. Thank you to Mr. Caviola too for taking the time to give us an orientation to the panel back in May. I am very glad to have been a part of the N00K staff for a few weeks and found great value in my time there.