Sailors and Marines Driving 20 Years of Innovation through ONR Global TechSolutions

ONR Global TechSolutions has just celebrated its 1,000th request for a technology-driven solution identified by the men and women who need it most — Sailors and Marines on the frontlines of the mission.

“Necessity is the mother of invention, which is why it’s so important to deliver what our warfighters need when they need it — not five to 10 years later, but as soon as possible,” said Capt. Andy Berner , commanding officer of the Office of Naval Research Global (ONR Global) , which oversees TechSolutions.

“When a viable request comes in, TechSolutions works to put that technology into the hands of our Sailors and Marines within months while other procurement requests are still working their way through red tape.”

In 2001, then-Chief of Naval Research, Rear Admiral Jay Cohen , USN (Ret.), stood up TechSolutions at ONR as a pilot program drawing on his experience as an ensign assigned to a submarine in the Tonkin Gulf. Cohen said he made two suggestions in 1969 to what was then called the Bureau of Ships.

“Several months later I received two letters from the bureau that thanked me for my input but basically said ‘not invented here’ and my suggestions went no further,” said Cohen.

“I promised myself that when I was in a position to engage with Sailors, Marines and junior officers who had good ideas, if they were worthy, I would pursue their development and keep the requester informed of actions being taken.”

Thirty-plus years later, in the summer of 2000, as chief of naval research, Cohen made good on that promise, sharing his original vision with a group of Sailors stationed at Kings Bay, Georgia.

“I informed them [Sailors] that I was establishing an office of technical solutions using the newly developed Internet web communications tool for Sailors, Marines and junior officers, so they could input their ideas directly to the Office of Naval Research for review and accomplishment.”

Susan Bales worked with Cohen as the director of the Science Advisor program from 2001 to 2004 for what was then called the Naval Fleet/Force Technology Innovation Program. She said TechSolutions represented a huge cultural shift in naval research.

“Any Sailor or Marine could click in with a request for help. The criteria were simple: save lives, save money and/or save time. The requests landed within the HQ Science Advisor program,” Bales said. “The cultural shift was in the speed and quality of the solutions. Literally, the entire global Naval Research Enterprise could and does participate in the solution builds.

Cohen wanted senior enlisted involvement to help encourage the submission of ideas from sailors. He engaged Chief Petty Officer Jim Blessé to come work for him after Blessé submitted a request from the fleet for an innovative improvement to periscopes.

Blessé, who later retired as a master chief petty officer and now works as a senior research engineer at Pennsylvania State University, recalled, “I got there in April of 2002 and Chief [Ken] Askew and I hit the ground running. Every two weeks we were visiting a ship or a Marine Corps base or some other installation. We’d say we’re here from the Office of Naval Research and we want to know what’s bugging you — what are the things causing you pain that you know how to solve.”

One of those “things” early on was a request from Sailor who had just been to a hockey game and saw a Zamboni cleaning the rink. Greg Hays was working at TechSolutions at the time and recalled that the Sailor asked if a Zamboni could be employed to clean aircraft carrier decks.

“Because aircraft carriers were cleaned with mops, and tons and tons of guys literally scrubbing it by hand, that was a good example of using technology to replace the raw power — the labor-intensive requirements going on the ships,” said Hays, who is now with the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic .”

The modified Zamboni is still in use and Jason Payne, the current director of TechSolutions, said they’ve recently received a request to make a robotic version.

Payne began working for TechSolutions in 2016 and gives credit for its success to his predecessors — several of whom recently joined Payne to reminisce about the beginnings of the program, including Blessé and Hays, as well as retired Master Chief Charles Ziervogel , 2010-2013; Lee Mastroianni , 2001-2002; John "JC" Coffey , who started working with Payne in 2023; and Jim McMains , who has worked for TechSolutions on and off since 2002.

“This is a great opportunity for us to talk about a program that was stood up over 20 years ago and has really been beneficial to the fleet and the force,” said Payne.

“You all have helped us get to this milestone of 1,000 requests from our warfighters. When our Sailors and Marines have an issue, they can be confident there is someone — a real person who is answering their emails and working to initiate their ideas.”

Blessé pointed out that the success of TechSolutions is not just that it engages directly with warfighters — it produces results fast. He said, “The whole idea of turning an idea around in 12 months seems ridiculous, but I remember sitting in an introductory meeting with Adm. Cohen where he said that fast in the S&T world was 20 years and here we are doing stuff in 12 months.”

Ziervogel said the Powered Rope Ascender is a great illustration of how quickly TechSolutions can turn around a request with a viable solution. “It is one of the really sexy, cool examples,” he said.

Cool enough to be featured on the History Channel’s Modern Marvels, the Powered Rope Ascender was originally designed for use by soldiers in urban combat and cave exploration.

TechSolutions sponsored the next generation, which had been requested by a Marine visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team. A modified prototype was created in less than a year, which allows warfighters to ascend and descend vertical surfaces at a rate of six feet per second using a rechargeable battery.

Although science, technology and innovation have always been a mainstay of the Department of the Navy (DoN), and the United States Department of Defense in general, what sets TechSolutions apart is its ability to come up with solutions to a warfighter problem quickly and inexpensively — relative to the years and dollars spent in traditional research and development by a government agency or commercial entity.

Mastroianni, now an ONR program officer, points out the original thrust of TechSolutions, which has remained constant over the past 20 years, is to talk with Sailors and Marines on the deckplate and in the field about what they need.

“Obviously, not only just helping to break some log jams and roadblocks for things that should be really simple to fix — the battle lantern is a perfect example. Not S&T, not hard to do, but someone had to break through the wall so to speak to just show it can be done — to remove some of the lethargy associated with acquisition programs.”

The battle lantern was the result of a TechSolutions request in 2004 to improve the fleet’s portable battle lanterns with rechargeable LED lighting in locations where high battery and bulb usage was common.

LED battle lanterns are now widely used throughout the fleet.

Thomas Gallagher , TechSolutions director from 2013 to 2015, recalls another successful and highly recognizable project — flight deck clothing.

“We came up with a blended material, which replaced the traditional cotton. I think we had at least 3,000 sets of clothing, shirts and trousers, for the sailors to test, and we outfitted, I think, two carrier flight groups,” said Gallagher, who is now the director of the Science Advisor Program for ONR Global.

Gallagher said the sweat wicking material not only keeps warfighters more comfortable in a challenging environment, such as a flight deck, it helps their bodies maintain hydration levels. He noted another clothing innovation came about during his tenure, replacing the steel toe of a boot with a composite, which doesn’t conduct heat or cold as easily as steel.

TechSolutions received its 1,000th request on Jan. 19. Payne said they are looking forward to celebrating the next milestone, number 1,500, which he hopes comes in sooner than the first 500 requests since warfighters can now contact TechSolutions directly by phone, email, Teams or through the ONR mobile app.

“Thanks to all the Sailors and Marines who have reached out to us in the past 20 years,” said Payne. “We owe you a debt of gratitude for helping the US Navy and United States Marine Corps become better, stronger and more resilient through your innovative solutions and ideas for technology.”