Admiral Views World Through Google Glass

The Tuesday luncheon speaker at West 2014, co-sponsored by AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute and being held February 11-13 in San Diego, demonstrated his view of the potential for innovative technologies by donning the latest in visual display systems.

Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., USN, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, began his luncheon address wearing a Google Glass wearable computer, which was provided by the Space and Naval Warfare Command (SPAWAR) at his request and that he used as a teleprompter. During his address, he doffed the Google Glass and replaced it with a tablet for his speech. Near the end of his talk, he put down the tablet and resorted to paper notes, which he then tore up at the end.

Those changes in media were deliberate, he explained. They represented a transition from innovation to new technology to traditional capabilities. When he tore up his notes, he discussed how all technologies might fail, and ultimately the capability will fall upon the individual tasked with carrying out a mission. “No one improvises better than the U.S. sailor,” he declared.