The Frozen Middle and the CRIC

Thanks for sharing an interesting article at CPO Tim Dickey
The Chief of Naval Operation’s Rapid Innovation Cell (CRIC) reminds of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) at least from an operational goal perspective. Granted CRIC is service-focused. It is interesting that a unique goal of CRIC was to change the culture to embrace innovation. That has always been an immense challenge for middle level managers of all stripes.
"The Chief of Naval Operation’s Rapid Innovation Cell (CRIC) had two missions. The first was to rapidly bring new concepts and technologies into the Navy. The second was to build a culture of innovation within the Navy. For the first mission, the CRIC was wildly successful. The CRIC, in three years, brought additive manufacturing to ships, highlighted augmented reality in the workplace, and used data analytics and machine learning in new ways to drastically reduce the time and cost of integrating systems of maintaining aircraft. Two CRIC projects, a cyber security project and a project on rapidly reconfigurable mission packages, shifted over $1 billion in Navy investment. None of these projects cost the Navy more than $2 million and most took fewer than two years to complete."
"The CRIC built a culture of innovation for junior sailors and officers and for a generation of senior leaders. The CRIC is fading away under its congressional mark, but its work is not over. It is time to unfreeze the middle in order to build the future Navy … even in today’s constrained fiscal reality.
The time for the CRIC to change the culture is over. The Navy needs to take the culture of innovation developed by the CRIC and transition it. That is a job for the newly unfrozen middle."

I am not sure if it is the same in the army based on our procurement studies being taught to us at the Command and General Staff College 0-4 level studies. This link does talk about some of the past mistakes. http://www.rand.org/topics/military-acquisition-and-procurement.htm

CPO Tim Dickey It was great article and it looks like the old dogs don't want to try new tricks (just a way of putting it). That was not intended to say that anyone old isn't about new technology, but they are going to resist if it's not in their comfort zone. If your enemy is doing it and they are doing successfully, then you need to study those TTPs and find a way to get into their decision and planning cycles, which means you need to adapt to that technology yourself to find the weaknesses and the backdoors. Why not use the same thing and send false information (counter intelligence). Just some thoughts. I can't say what the Army is doing because I've not benn following it, but I'm reading the comments to see if I can get up-to-speed quickly.