Photo By Robert Fluegel | Naval Information Warfighting Development Center (NIWDC) Warfare Tactics Instructor...... read more read more
Norfolk, Va. – On April 1, 2021, the Naval Information Warfighting Development Center (NIWDC), held a patching ceremony and designated 29 new Level 4 Warfare Tactics Instructors (WTI) in its sixth and largest class of Information Warfare (IW) WTIs since the course came on line in 2018. Of additional significance is that this milestone brings the total number of WTIs in the fleet to 101, eclipsing the century mark.
Vice Adm. Brian B. Brown, Commander, Naval Information Forces, opened the event along with Force Master Chief David Twiford. Brown and Rear Adm. Michael Vernazza, Commander, NIWDC, presided over the patching ceremony for the 20 commissioned officers, eight senior enlisted, and one government civilian, all of whom completed the challenging 10-week course culminating in the completion of a final project focused on delivering solutions to the toughest Fleet IW challenges.
Notably, this will be the last NIWDC WTI graduation that Brown will preside over prior to his retirement from the U.S. Navy. He stated that although he will be departing, he is excited for the future of the IW community and is encouraged by the talent of the next generation of IW Sailors and civilians. Brown charged the graduates with key tenets such as empowered execution, shared awareness and a common purpose in their new role as WTIs. Brown also acknowledged the growing need for enlisted IW WTIs.
“We need your collective talent, experience and innovation to solve the hard challenges of warfighting in the era of renewed Great Power Competition," Brown told the graduating WTIs. "We need to ensure the win in high end, information dominated, maritime warfare, and you represent our strategic, operational, and tactical warfighting integrators and your brains are our primary weapon systems.”
FORCM Twiford offered remarks to the graduating class as well. “WTI’s not only bring IW together within the domain but are the key leaders in the fight to ensure all other warfare commanders understand what our Information Warriors bring to the fight. For our enlisted Sailors who complete and bring WTI skills to the fleet, we have grown an advanced tactician that fully understands how all our pillars of IW impact the battle space," said Twiford. "I see a bright future for how these Sailors will impact our community.”
In his opening remarks, Vernazza stated, “I’m extremely proud of their effort and hard work these last 10 weeks. These WTIs have gained the necessary tools to integrate IW tactics and capabilities across all warfare domains, enhancing lethality and readying the Fleet to excel in the era of Great Power Competition.”
NIWDC doubled its student capacity as a result of its new classroom infrastructure network capabilities, allowing staff members to effectively facilitate training, while providing WTI candidates a conducive learning environment for all phases of the WTI program.
Vernazza remarked, “The completion of the second classroom allowed NIWDC to increase WTI throughput to meet Fleet demand while also maintaining the high training standards required to develop the next breed of IW warriors.”
The WTI training development cycle (TDC) focuses on developing mission area experts skilled at tactical integration of IW across the spectrum of warfare. Candidates gain a firm understanding of IW tactics and doctrine and learn the latest tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) aligned with their specialty. This WTI TDC expanded the IW baseline to four weeks where candidates received traditional instruction and solved a series of practical vignettes and battle problems focused on the pillars of IW: Battlespace Awareness, Assured Command and Control, and Integrated Fires. Candidates gained an understanding of the intricacies of IW training, operations, experimentation, and other roles within the IW community and across other warfare domains.
Following the baseline instruction, candidates entered a mission area training phase specifically designed to provide a deep understanding of advanced tactics and doctrine in their specialty, while also allowing dedicated time for development of a final project. In this culminating event, all candidates were assigned a real-world tactical study aligned to a fleet capability gap or operational deficiency. The students were challenged to conduct a thorough analysis and propose potential solutions to some of the most difficult tactical issues facing the IW community. In all, 29 final projects were developed and will be used to feed doctrine and institute new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and TTPs for Fleet use.
NIWDC also designated and patched two new Level 5 WTIs. Level 5 WTIs are assigned to NIWDC and are master instructors and tactical training experts who instruct and mentor WTI candidates through each WTI TDC.
Upon graduation, in addition to the WTI patch and designation letter, Navy officer graduates received the associated IW WTI Additional Qualification Designator (AQD): GW1 for Electronic Warfare, GW2 for Intelligence Operations, GW3 for Meteorology and Oceanography, or GW6 for Command and Control / Cyberspace Operations. Level 5 WTIs are awarded a GWI AQD. USMC officer graduates also receive an official service school code of CU3. An equivalent Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) is in development for enlisted graduates.
The IW WTI program (IWWP), is open to naval commissioned officers O2 through O4, Chief Warrant Officers 2 through 4 who have already earned an IW Officer designation pin or USMC equivalent, naval senior enlisted paygrades E7 though E9 who have earned an enlisted IW specialist designator pin or USMC equivalent, and GS/GG 11 through 14 civilians assigned to NIWDC. The IWWP is seeking top performers in the naval IW community who demonstrate tactical excellence and seek opportunities to mentor and develop warfighters in the IW community.
NIWDC is the U.S. Navy’s IW tactical center of excellence, which enhances fleet high-end warfighting capabilities and readiness across the operational and tactical levels of war. For more information on the IWWP, visit https://intelshare.intelink.gov/sites/NIWDC-Doctrine-CIE/IW_WTI or email IW_WTI@navy.mil. To keep up to date with the latest news from NIWDC, visit https://www.navifor.usff.navy.mil/Organization/Operational-Forces/NIWDC/ or NIWDC’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/NIWDC .
-USN-
| Date Taken: | 04.16.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.16.2021 14:16 |
| Story ID: | 394066 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, US |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Largest Graduating Class of IW WTIs is Fleet Bound!, by Jacquelynn Fisher, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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