Courtesy Photo | 190523-N-XX082-0007 MONTEREY, Calif. (May 23, 2019) During a Presidio of Monterey...... read more read more
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By Yeoman 1st Class David Lee, Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Monterey
MONTEREY, Calif. - Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Monterey Sailors stood proudly in formation alongside their Army, Air Force, Marine, and Coast Guard counterparts to pay respects to fallen service members during the Presidio of Monterey’s Memorial Day Observance at the historic Soldier Field, overlooking the Monterey Bay, May 23.
This year’s ceremony honored two heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice: Navy Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Shannon Kent, and Army Staff Sergeant Alexander Conrad. Kent, a Navy linguist-warrior, and mother of two, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Manbij, Syria, during her third operational deployment with Navy SEALs. Army Staff Sergeant Alexander Conrad was killed by indirect fire while conducting a multi-day exercise with 800 Somali and Kenyan forces during his third deployment. Both were graduates of the Defense Language Institute (DLI).
The event featured a roll call observance with the command sergeant major calling upon individuals of each military branch in attendance and then finally receiving no response upon the calls for Conrad and Kent. Their names were called out a second time, still with no response. The finality and meaning struck those in the crowd, moving many to tears and leaving the atmosphere solemn with the only thing audible being the flags of our country and services waving in the breeze.
Kent and Conrad were then added to the DLI memorial plaque, which honors graduates of DLI who have been killed as a result of hostile action in the global war on terror.
This ceremony was a reminder of the importance of this holiday before the start of the long weekend. With Col. Gary Hausman, DLI commandant, reminding all in attendance of a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.”
Without a doubt, those who attended the ceremony started this Memorial Day weekend remembering two heroes lost this past year, honoring them and being thankful for their sacrifice.
“Today we honored the lives of those men and women of the armed forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedoms,” said Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Michalowicz, IWTC Monterey’s executive officer. “The patriotism and honors displayed today should give reassurance to all the Gold Star families in attendance that their loved ones will never be forgotten and their commitment to this great nation will carryon in everyone who serves.”
IWTC Monterey, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training, provides a continuum of foreign language training to Navy personnel, which prepares them to conduct information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.
With four schoolhouse commands, two detachments, and training sites throughout the United States and Japan, CIWT is recognized as Naval Education and Training Command’s top learning center for the past three years. Training over 21,000 students every year, CIWT delivers trained information warfare professionals to the Navy and joint services. CIWT also offers more than 200 courses for cryptologic technicians, intelligence specialists, information systems technicians, electronics technicians, and officers in the information warfare community.
For more on Information Warfare Training Command Monterey, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt/IWTCmonterey/ and http://www.monterey.army.mil/Service_Units/IWTC_Monterey.html, or find them on Facebook.
For more news from the Center for Information Warfare Training, visit www.navy.mil/local/cid/, http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt/, http://www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or http://www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.25.2019 04:44 |
| Story ID: | 323978 |
| Location: | MONTEREY, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 204 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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