Excited to share my fascinating and thoughtful conversation with Joshua Tallis, Ph.D., scientific analyst to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. In this episode, we explore the critical role of the CNA Corporation and other Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) in shaping the US Navy’s strategic and operational policies and how they fit into the broader think tank ecosystem.
Dr. Tallis discusses how CNA has evolved from its beginnings in World War II—analyzing tactics to counter German U-boats in the Atlantic and Japanese kamikazes in the Pacific—to applying queuing theory to port operations in Busan during the Korean War, optimizing aviator recovery during Vietnam, leveraging open-source intelligence to divine the Soviet bastion defense strategy, and using statistical analysis to demonstrate the effectiveness of electronic warfare in counter-IED operations in Iraq.
He also highlights the breadth of operations research and manpower analysis performed in support of the Navy and Marine Corps, the challenges of communicating research to decision-makers within a complex and adaptive system, and the importance of bottom-up ideas in addressing operational challenges. Dr. Tallis encourages sailors throughout the fleet to bring forward their insights during annual calls for studies, emphasizing that those closest to the issues often ask the most impactful questions.
On this episode of Sailor Pulse, Joshua Tallis, Ph.D. sits down with Andrew Tenbusch to discuss the unbiased role of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers in Naval decision-making.
