Rob Driscoll - Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy
In 2001, the United States Navy (USN) embarked on a program to modernize its training. The Executive Review of Navy Training study determined that there was a real need to identify better ways to organize, deliver, and set requirements for individual training and education. A little over 2 years later the study delivered its program outcomes: Nowadays we recognize these well known projects as the Revolution in Training, Task Force EXCEL and Project Sea Warrior. Also associated are the iconic and ground breaking models for training such as Navy Knowledge Online’s Integrated Learning Environment.
During the same period of time as the Revolution in Training was undergoing its roll-out the Royal Navy (RN) and the Canadian Forces Navy (CFN) were undertaking their own personnel and training organizational changes.
At the 2003 IITSEC and ITEC conferences, in which the 3 nations met routinely, the US Navy Education and Training Command identified to his counterparts several areas of mutual interest to the British and Canadians Naval training services. These bi-annual gatherings would eventually lead to a Tri-Lateral Working Group forming; whose participants comprised each nation’s Naval and Education Command’s Commanders. As is usually the way, a pivotal meeting took place in an East London pub during the UK ITEC conference in 2004 between Commander Naval and Education Training Command, his US Deputy Director of Training and reciprocal Royal Navy and Canadian training directors. It was at this gathering that it was agreed (over a few beers) to formalize the previously informal relationship that existed. This led to the creation of the USN, RN and CFN Statement of Intent.