Organizing OPNAV (1970–2009)

For any institution adapting to change, the dreaded “R-word” (reorganization) has come to represent an often disrup- tive, albeit necessary, transition. But as the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) authors Peter Swartz and Michael Markowitz clearly highlight, reorgani- zation has been the near-normal state for the Navy Staff (OPNAV) over the past several decades. Conducted under the sponsorship of the Naval History and Heritage Command, this CNA re- port effectively tracks the numerous changes in the organization of OPNAV in response to changes both in Chiefs of Naval Operations (CNOs) and in the strategic and budgetary environments since 1970.