Courtesy Photo | 200918-N-BQ121-0002 PENSACOLA, Fla. (September 18, 2020) Cmdr. Chris Johnson,...... read more read more
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By Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) Raymond M. Donato, Information Warfare Training Command Corry Station
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- In one of the costliest and most devastating storm to strike the Florida pan-handle, Hurricane Sally pummeled the country’s Gulf Coast leaving behind a swath of destruction, widespread power outages, flooding and gas shortages in her wake, Sept. 16.
As the scope of the storm’s devastation began to unfold, Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Corry Station activated the emergency management officer (EMO) to prepare and support response efforts.
“Our primary duty is to ensure the safety of our Sailors,” said Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Technical) John Brock, IWTC Corry Station EMO. “It has been a challenging task this year since we had an active shooter event, COVID-19 and Hurricane Sally.
IWTC Corry Station EMO’s mission is to coordinate communication and resources during emergencies. After tracking the storm for more than a week, Brock deployed the building managers which are located in each schoolhouse to install sand bags and protect mission-essential training equipment.
“I was on duty during the preparation phase and we installed sand bags on all the building entrances to avoid flood water getting into the classrooms,” said Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 1st Class Estrella Schelmetty, an IWTC Corry Station instructor. “We were definitely more prepared for Hurricane Sally compared to all the natural disasters that I have been a part of.”
While the ability to orchestrate such preparation efforts from multiple locations around the base may seem difficult and daunting at times, leaders say it’s what they’ve train for. Coincidentally, IWTC Corry Station was still in the process of managing the COVID-19 pandemic when it began preparation of personnel and resources in anticipation of actions they would need for the hurricane. Brock also coordinate heavily with Naval Air Station Pensacola and the Center of Information Warfare Training to ensure Sailors had the resources they needed and buildings are maintained to provide cutting-edge training.
“We learn how to do our job by conducting exercises,” added Brock. “While the exercises dealt with different types of threats, IWTC Corry Station is also prepared for threats from Mother Nature.”
As the EMO, Brock also coordinates the evacuation, shelter in place, distribution of food, damage assessments and many other functions to support disaster recovery efforts.
“I am not used to hurricanes but felt secure after sheltering in place,” said Seaman Addlyrman Delacruz, a student at IWTC Corry Station. “All the service members from different branches of the military work together in the recovery efforts to get the job done.”
The recovery efforts started immediately after Hurricane Condition of Readiness (COR) V was issued and it was safe to secure from shelter in place.
“I am thankful that we did not lose power in our barracks,” said Seaman Ana Mesonesalvarez, an IWTC Corry Station student. “We inspected our classrooms and found some water damage, but most of the equipment was protected with plastic coverings.”
Students and staff from joint services coordinated, monitored, assisted in drying the classrooms, and critical laboratories; debris-clearing; and the reestablishment of equipment to readiness condition in order to resume training.
“We have all-hands on deck drying out and cleaning the classrooms,” said Cmdr. Chris Johnson, IWTC Corry Station executive officer. “Returning the base to a safe and healthy training environment by Monday, Sept. 21, was the goal.”
With great teamwork and coordination, IWTC Corry Station resumed training, Sept. 21, just five days after Hurricane Sally.
IWTC Corry Station is a part of the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT). With four schoolhouse commands, a detachment, and training sites throughout the United States and Japan, CIWT trains over 22,000 students every year, delivering 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 news from Center for Information Warfare Training domain, visit https://www.public.navy.mil/netc/centers/ciwt/, www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.
| Date Taken: | 09.18.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.21.2020 13:31 |
| Story ID: | 378277 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 416 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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