SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Sailors and Marines across Naval Base San Diego gathered to meet the man responsible for the readiness and development of the entire Department of the Navy.
John Phelan was appointed by President Trump and sworn in as the 79th Secretary of the Navy at the end of March. He has been visiting naval bases across America, taking a look inside their operations and identifying areas that need improvement.
"I think we have to fundamentally make an enormous number of changes," Phelan said.
Phelan is the founder of a private investment firm and has no prior military service. He answered questions from sailors about incorporating that experience into his leadership role.
"Obviously I know a lot of private sector executives who can help us, we've started to bring them in," Phelan said.
Phelan discussed his priority to improve U.S. shipbuilding capacity and speed up maintenance schedules. He said artificial intelligence is part of that discussion but would not clarify how it will be used.
When asked to specify other ways the U.S. Navy can utilize artificial intelligence on ships, Phelan responded: "I'd rather not get too involved in it because we are still developing the doctrine and the ideas behind it."
Phelan said the biggest concern brought to his attention is quality of life for sailors. He said there are plans in the works to revamp the barracks and beds at naval bases across the United States.
"If we don't have good accommodations and basic quality of living - why would you come to work here? I think that's a very important thing," Phelan said.
Phelan expects to visit Camp Pendleton and San Diego shipyards later this week.
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