DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
2000 NAVY PENTAGON
WASHINGTON, DC 20350-2000
OPNAVINST 3500.44
N09F
8 Jun 2016
OPNAV INSTRUCTION 3500.44
From: Chief of Naval Operations
Subj: NAVY CULTURE WORKSHOPS
1. Purpose. To establish policy, provide guidance, and
delineate responsibilities to standardize the culture workshop
programs in Naval Surface Force Atlantic (NAVSURFLANT); Naval
Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet (NAVSURFPAC); Submarine Force
Atlantic (SUBLANT); Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet (SUBPAC);
Naval Air Force Atlantic (NAVAIRLANT); Naval Air Force U.S.
Pacific Fleet (NAVAIRPAC); Navy Expeditionary Combat Command
(NAVEXPDCMBTCOM); and Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) type
commanders (TYCOM).
2. Background
a. The Navy Culture Workshop Program concept was originally
developed in 1996 to provide a tool to assist aviation
commanding officers (CO) with identifying underlying command
culture issues that impact safety within their units and to
positively influence and improve naval aviation culture over
time.
b. The culture workshop is not an inspection. The culture
workshop is an open-forum discussion process, facilitated by
experienced senior command-level officers who focus on
operational excellence by gauging trust, integrity, and
effective communication, both up and down the chain of command
within the unit. Facilitators lead and focus the discussion on
these three key areas, but may discuss any issue unit members
feel is an impediment to operational excellence within their
command. The culture workshop process is specifically designed
to help the CO look introspectively at the organization and
determine whether their perception of the command’s culture and
climate is accurate. More importantly, the culture workshop
allows the command to identify issues that presently cause
