Navy's Porter retires

The Navy Department's chief information officer, Dan Porter, said he will retire from his post Dec. 1.

Porter confirmed in an e-mail message that he has accepted the agency's early retirement option to become senior vice president for strategic development at Vredenburg Inc., a small professional services company in Reston, Va.

His retirement follows an announcement last month that the Navy is cutting the department's CIO office staff in half to 25 people. Porter, however, said his decision is not related to the cuts.

"This is an unfortunate accident of timing," he said in an e-mail message.

"The restructuring does a number of really good things to tighten up relationships among [information technology] players in the department," he said. "There is a part of me that would love to stay and work through the challenge of a smaller size coupled with the opportunity afforded by the new relationships."

Porter's departure marks the third significant exit from the Navy Department's IT leadership in recent months. Alex Bennet, deputy CIO for enterprise integration, left earlier this year, and Ron Turner, deputy CIO for infrastructure, systems and technology, announced that he also will be retiring.

Porter, however, said the Navy Department's CIO operation is in "great shape."

"We are blessed with some very strong...team leaders. The office isn't being phased out, nor will it be less proactive, I am sure," he said.

Ray Bjorklund, vice president of market intelligence and chief knowledge officer for Federal Sources Inc., a McLean, Va., market research firm, said the fact that the Navy Department is working cohesively is a sign that the ship is running well.

"That says to me it's a tightly knit organization," he said. "When you work yourself out of a job, you've reached success."

Porter was named the Navy Department's CIO in September 1998 when the post was separated from command, control, communications, computers and intelligence, and electronic warfare and space programs.

Previously, Porter worked in the Navy's systems and procurement operations. From November 1994 to February 1998, he was the service's acquisition reform executive. Before that, Porter was the program executive officer for undersea warfare.

Porter is credited with overseeing the Navy Marine Corps Intranet, the department's massive effort to create a single network across more than 300 shore-based sites.

Porter said that he does not expect his departure to impact the $6.9 billion contract.

NMCI "is in good hands," he said. Rear Adm. Charles "Munns is a wonderfully skilled leader who is moving it forward with sure, steady progress."