Peeking Behind the Curtain: Chiefs Lead the Way as SSP’s Fleet Liaisons to Push Sailor Training into New Era

18 September 2025

From Shelby Thompson

MAGNA, Utah - Strategic Systems Program’s (SSP) Program Management Offices (PMO) are the command’s eyes in the field as the government representatives for the design, development, production, installation, and testing of the Trident II D5 Strategic Weapon System (SWS) at industry facilities. For the Navy, the direct partnership by SSP’s Fleet liaison sailors at the PMOs is critical to connecting the warfighter operating the weapon system at the tip of the spear to the industry partners building the systems.

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As part of that partnership effort, SSBN Sailors were invited to detachments of Program Management Office Flight Systems (SPF) August 17-21 to take an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the weapons system they maintain and operate at sea. Known as “Reverse SWS Week,” the recently established engagement is an opportunity for Sailors to meet and interact with the technical experts who build the weapon system.

“This could be one of the most beneficial things the submarine fleet has seen in a very, very long time,” Chief Petty Officer Taylor Phillips said, the fleet liaison for Program Management Office Flight Systems detachment in Cape Canaveral, Florida (SPFC).

The role of SSP’s Fleet Liaisons is, “to provide the fleet perspective to the engineers and [industry] partners,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Dwayne Chapman, the fleet liaison and senior enlisted advisor for SPF. At SPF that perspective is focused on the experience of Missile Technicians supporting SSBNs. Missile Technicians are the navy rate responsible for the operation and maintenance of advanced electronic equipment and computers and electromechanical support systems of the SWS. Phillips and Chapman, both missile technicians, quickly realized one of the most important things they could do as fleet liaisons was simply to show up for the Navy civilians and industry partners at their sites, bridging the knowledge gap between design/builder and sailor.

Reverse SWS Week goes a step further, building confidence in the sailors who are charged with operating the weapon system on strategic patrol that a real person is out there building the system and interested in understanding the Sailor’s experience operating in a real-world environment. Phillips and Chapman took the lead in advocating for and organizing the SPF event.

The need to connect to the next generation of sailors and future chiefs was a driving factor in Phillips and Chapman’s decision to put together the logistically challenging event. In their fleet liaison roles, they have regular interactions with Sailors at other training and knowledge-sharing events throughout the year, such as the standard SWS Weeks held several times throughout the year at SSBN homeports in Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia and Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. They believe the more personalized and hands-on experience at Reverse SWS Week is more effective at reaching some of the junior Sailors.

“You’ll have that kid who has been in the Navy just two years, and he has a good question, but he’s nervous with a bunch of chiefs and civilians and officers, so this week is a more personal opportunity,” said Phillips.

Chapman noted that, in addition to providing a more informal learning environment, the event he and Phillips coordinated addresses the way this new generation approaches problem-solving and information gathering while at sea.

“It’s a paradigm shift,” said Chapman. “We came from the generation of doing what we were told until it was our time to start telling people what to do, and now, [the mentality is] ‘why are we doing it like this? Is there a better way?’”

Phillips agrees with that assessment, and views it as a trend in a positive direction even though it means that enlisted leaders, including chiefs, may need to calibrate their leadership style. “This is the ‘why generation’, and they want to know ‘why is it this way, why is it that way,’ and I think this specific Reverse SWS Week is showing them that ‘why.’”

At SPF, which oversees the manufacturing and assembly of the D5 interstage and equipment section structures, including the flight control system, the Fleet Liaison role is heavily focused on providing Sailor insight as an end user to the designers and manufacturers of the components.

In Phillips’ experience, that means a lot of discussions with engineers. These conversations are high value particularly because it’s an opportunity for Sailors like Phillips to provide input on how the equipment performs in the operational environment, not just the design labs and production facilities.

“Engineers will handle the pieces of equipment like they are made of glass, and I’m like ‘that piece of equipment is going to be utilized (by Sailors), and it is not going to be handled in the way that you’re handling it here,’” said Phillips. ““I notice talking with the engineers, they’ve designed a gadget or this item, but I don’t actually know what it does. We, as fleet liaisons, give them that subject matter expert perspective of ‘yes, you’ve designed this piece of equipment very well, and we use it for X, Y, and Z on the boat.’”

Although the Fleet liaisons are there to provide user insights at the PMO, Chapman notes having a whole group of active-duty Sailors in the production buildings and engineering areas increases credibility with the workforce and “is a visual reminder [to the workforce] that these Sailors are the ones sleeping, eating, and watching movies right next to the missiles” the industry workforce is building.

“It’s beneficial to both parties,” said Chapman. “[The Sailors] get to see behind the curtains, everything that goes into it up front, and then the civilians and industry partners get to have that end-user experience. It’s such a big deal.”

SPF’s Reverse SWS Week is aimed at increasing Sailor’s knowledge of future career opportunities as well as expanding their technical proficiency. Phillips and Chapman took their responsibility as mentors seriously, making themselves available to the Sailors for anything from in-depth discussions of missile technician procedures, to handing out advice on career-growth opportunities within the Navy and talking about their career journeys. For several Sailors, it was their first time having an in-person interaction with a fleet liaison.

There is no specific career path to enlisted fleet liaison. When the annual chief petty officer results are announced, Navy commands fill vacant billets, including fleet liaison positions, with the new chiefs. These new chiefs can be sent to sea or shore assignments; typically, shore commands have a preference for their new fleet liaisons to have recently completed time at sea, so they come to the role with fresh information about how things operate on the boat.

All fleet liaison billets are chief petty officer billets, but, in Chapman’s experience, it is possible to start the role prior to pinning on chief. In Chapman’s first fleet liaison role with the launcher branch at SSP headquarters in DC, he arrived as a petty officer first class and was promoted to chief petty officer while serving in the role.
Phillips had a different path, promoting to chief petty officer while out on patrol, and was not assigned a fleet liaison role until his first shore duty back, when he was sent to be the fleet liaison at SPF’s detachment in Cape Canaveral.

The number one piece of advice that Phillips and Chapman had for Sailors interested in pursuing a fleet liaison role was to consistently advocate for themselves when connecting to their detailers and other Navy mentors who may know of positions opening up.

“When I was on USS Ohio (SSGN 726), the SSP command master chief would come out for SWS Weeks all the time,” said Chapman. “Each time, I would find him and tell him that I wanted to come to SSP to work for him for my next shore duty. He told me I needed to be a 1^st class and needed to be eligible for chief, so ‘you need to get to work.’ So, I got qualified in everything I could, and once I got in my rotation window, he said ‘we got you.’ I ended up getting the orders. I was in the fleet liaison role for three months and I reenlisted for six years. This is the sweetest thing I’ve ever found.”

As the week drew to a close, Phillips and Chapman commented that the young Sailors participating in Reverse SWS Week had grown more confident over the course of the week. Those who started the week reluctant to ask questions were now leading conversations, searching out information, and making valuable connections with the chiefs, Navy civilians, and industry partners at the PMO.

Reflecting on the week, Phillips said he hopes the Sailors bring their new knowledge and confidence back to the fleet and grow into leaders themselves.

“I don’t want to be the chief that changed the world,” said Phillips, “but I do want to be the chief that changed a sailor.”

Strategic Systems Programs is the Navy command that provides cradle-to-grave lifecycle support for the sea-based leg of the nation’s nuclear triad. This includes training, systems, equipment, facilities and personnel responsible for ensuring the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nation’s SLBM Trident II D5 and D5 Life Extension (D5LE) SWS.

SLBMs are one leg of the nation’s Nuclear Triad, which also includes the U.S. Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and nuclear-capable bombers. Each part of the Triad provides unique capabilities and advantages; however, SLBMs make up the majority – approximately 70 percent – of the U.S.’ deployed strategic nuclear deterrent. SLBMs are not only the most survivable leg of the Nuclear Triad, but also provide persistent presence and allow flexible concept of operations to military senior leaders.

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Peeking Behind the Curtain: Chiefs Lead the Way as SSP’s Fleet Liaisons to Push Sailor Training into New Era

From Shelby Thompson