Navy picks NMCI manager

Navy Secretary Gordon England has selected Rear Adm. Charles Munns to spearhead the service's massive effort to outsource its shore-based information technology infrastructure.

Munns, who will be based in Washington, D.C., was named the single program manager for the Navy Marine Corps Intranet and will be responsible for managing and directing all aspects of the $6.9 billion initiative.

Marine Corps Col. Robert Logan will serve as Munns' deputy. The program office will formally be established Feb. 11.

"NMCI is a critical part of the transformation of the Navy and Marine Corps team to meet this and future security concerns," England said in a release. "It is also a very complex undertaking and one that is a dramatic departure from the traditional way of doing business within the Department of Defense.

"This management initiative will ensure we continue to move forward on this essential project," England said.

An NMCI senior executive council, headed by John Young, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, will be responsible for senior-level review of the program office. The council is expected to include representatives from Navy's operations, finance, training and testing organizations, as well as from industry, Navy officials said.

The fiscal 2000 Defense authorization bill mandated that England appoint a program manager whose "sole responsibility is to direct and oversee the program."

Munns is a 1973 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and has a master's degree in computer science from the University of Colorado. He is currently the commander of the Submarine Group Eight and commander of Submarines, Allied Forces South in Italy.

He also has served as deputy chief of staff for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, resources, requirements and assessments for the Pacific Fleet's chief information officer. Munns was at the Pentagon in the early 1990s, working for the deputy chief of staff for Naval Operations for plans, policies and operations.

Logan graduated from Washington State University in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. In 1983, he obtained a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif. He is currently serving as the director of the systems engineering and integration division at the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.