10th Fleet Members Speak at West 2020

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class William Sykes | 200303-N-XK809-1048 SAN DIEGO (March 3, 2020) Left to right, Cryptologic Technician (Networks) 1st Class Davy Marrero, Lt. j.g. Lucas Foppe and Warrant Officer Devan Sorenson speak about efforts to attract and retain world-class cyber talent at the WEST 2020 conference. Co-sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) and U.S. Naval Institute (USNI), WEST is the premier naval conference and exposition on the West Coast for military and industry communications professionals. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William Sykes/Released)  

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MD, UNITED STATES

03.06.2020

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class William Sykes 

U.S. Fleet Cyber Command / U.S. 10th Fleet

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (NNS) - Personnel, assigned to U.S.10th Fleet, spoke on a variety of subjects March 2-3 at WEST 2020, the premier naval conference and exposition on the West Coast, at the San Diego Convention Center.

Vice Adm. Timothy “T.J.” White, commander U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet (FCC/C10F) shared the stage with several top military leaders on a panel speaking on the subject of “Are we ready to fight and win in fully contested zones?”

“I think from a maneuver standpoint, from an operational standpoint, we have very good insight because of our partnership with industry and academia, but also across all the services in the intelligence community,” said White. “To be ready; to be present; to be forward; to be postured; to understand what the enemy and the adversary are doing to us, where they are doing it, how they are doing it and in partnering is appropriate with all sorts of activities below the level of armed conflict to engaged.”

The rest of the panel, consisting of commanders of other Navy fleets and from other services, concurred in the assessment that we are ready to fight and win in fully contested zones.

Manuel Hermosilla, Executive Director of FCC/C10F, took to the Information Warfare Pavilion stage and spoke about Navy Cyberspace Transformation. In his presentation, he talked about operational challenges faced by Navy operators and what has been implemented in order to improve operator effectiveness. He went on to explain how the partnerships across the intelligence community have improved capabilities. He also discussed the Integrated Navy Operations Command and Control System (INOCCS) and explained how it enables positive command and control of the Navy battlespace.

Sailors from the Navy Cyber Competition Team (CCT) spoke about the efforts to attract and retain world-class cyber talent.

Lt. j.g. Lucas Foppe spoke about the Cyber Warfare Engineer (CWE) officer designator.

“The Cyber Warfare Engineer designator was created as a means of addressing the increased demand for officers with specific computer network operations, focused knowledge, skills and abilities,” said Foppe.

Foppe described how the designator has grown since its inception in 2010. He said when the program first started, CWEs had to choose another career path after a short time in order to advance rank. Today, CWEs have a defined career path with a continuous training pipeline, so can advance up to the rank of Captain.

Warrant Officer Devan Sorenson talked about the Cyber Warrant officer designator and the reestablishment of the rank of Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) in the Navy.

The WO1 designator was reinstated in an effort to retain highly technical enlisted personnel earlier in their career. Prior to this reinstatement, enlisted Sailors who wished to join the warrant officer ranks were required to be E-7 or above and have a minimum 14 years time in service. Those selected were advanced to Chief Warrant Officer 2. WO1 allows Sailors to transition at ranks E-5 through E-7 with a minimum of 6 years time in service.

Cryptologic Technician (Networks) 1st Class Davy Marrero talked about the Navy’s CCT.

The CCT, first started in Sept. 2019, is a dedicated effort to display cyber talent and to highlight the spirit of competition, warfighting prowess, and professionalism that the Information Warfare Community brings to the Navy. It aims to enhance cyber skillsets, serve as a recruitment tool, capture industry best practices, manifest new capabilities, and highlight areas for improvement across the Navy cyber force.

Marrero talked about all aspects of the CCT, from how to apply to the success of the team’s first season together to the end-state goals of the team by the year 2022 in which the team will move from being a 2-month temporary assignment to getting 18-month orders.

WEST, now in its 30th year, brings military and industry leaders together in a single locale to encourage discussion with the makers of platforms and the designers of technologies impacting the warfighter and information domain. WEST is co-sponsored by Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) International and the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI).

FCC is responsible for Navy information network operations, offensive and defensive cyberspace operations, space operations, and signals intelligence. Comprised of more than 14,000 Sailors, Reservists and civilians stationed across the world, C10F is the operational arm of FCC and executes its mission through a task force structure similar to other warfare commanders.

For news and information from Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command / U.S. 10th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/FCCC10F/ or follow us on twitter @USFLEETCYBERCOM.

• Date Taken: 03.06.2020
• Date Posted: 03.06.2020 13:35
• Story ID: 364646
• Location: FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MD, US