Vanguard Magazine

I N T E R V I E W www.vanguardcanada.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2025 15 the submarines arrive, to construct an as- set management framework for in-service support that'll bring all those pieces to- gether in a holistic package. And we can start with some of those industry exam- ples, but we can't stop there. We have to go beyond that and build a solution that works for Canada and works for future submarines. Cdr HUNT: Q: How can we reconcile the differing motivations of industry and government regarding in-service support outcomes? Are these differences inherent, or can they be bridged? IAN KREPPS: That is a good question. If I was to draw the Venn diagram, there are motivations that are purely driven by industry and industry requirements. There are motiva- tions that are purely driven by the custom- er, DND and RCN. But the good news is there is a lot of common ground between that Venn diagram. And I think that's the area where we need to focus. What are the common objectives? I think as Canadians, it starts with making sure that the sailors of the RCN have platforms and war fighting capability that is available to them when needed. If we start from that, only good things can happen. When I look at unified in purpose and common objectives, it's about maximizing the availability of those key strategic platforms for the RCN. And that's where I would start, and I would draw inspiration from. Cdr HUNT: Q: What are your ideas as industry to grow the workforce in preparation for the submarine enterprise? How can the government aid and the growth? PETER KAROUNOS: One concept that recently came out of the U.S. is this private-public agreement with the Navy to work with a private equity company to build an industrial submarine facility to manufacture and build subma- rine components. Think about that concept. It's out of the box thinking. Twenty years ago, I ran the public affairs office for team submarine. Whenever they asked us about submarines, we were the silent service. We provided very minimum information. Now you look at it, we have www.buildsubmarines.com. You're out there in the public space in the media trying to cover as much as possible. You sponsor Major League Baseball. My son went to the University of Alabama, Guess what? They have a good techni- cal engineering program there. And the submarine community joined forces with the football program and the engineering school to create a build submarine entity there to bring young people graduating from engineering into the submarine pro- gram. So maybe for Canada, find a hockey team and sponsor it, and perhaps set up a Canadian version of www.buildsubma- rines.com. Cdr HUNT: Q: Noting DND's limitations with their IT systems such as Defence cloud, DRMIS and its replacement DefenceX, how important will across organization data environment ready on day one be for CPSP ISS? GORDON SZCZEPSKI: I would it's a very submarine-like tactic to bring a question to the question, which is what is day one? So again, I think I go back this opportunity to put a plan in place, and I think those key assets, the IT systems, the means of communication that I mentioned are imperative to a collaborative, successful ISS construct. I would say day one needs to have some thought put behind it. But I think goes without saying that that type of approach is essential to successful ISS. I've seen significant change in how we took a submarine that arrived and then we tried to figure it out, and we've made significant steps. The integration of our company and my engineers with DRMIS is substan- tial. However, we need to do more. And I wouldn't say that there are limitations around IT systems. There are known con- straints. So put a bunch of smart people in the room and we can figure it out. I would start off by saying every industry out there whether it's the submarine community or the auto, is competing for the same group of resources. You start off with the need to cultivate, invest and maintain the workforce you have. — Peter Karounos HMCS Windsor. Photo: Dan Bard, DND.

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