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NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY, Bahrain (NNS) - After more than 23 years, Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Bahrain formally disestablished on Oct 14, 2021.
While the disestablishment results from the transfer of the mission performed by NIOC Bahrain to NIOC Georgia, NIOC Bahrain Sailors have executed operations under 10th Fleet Task Force 1050 since its establishment. Aligning these two commands only makes the team stronger.
For over two decades, NIOC Bahrain Sailors have stood the watch ashore and deployed throughout the Middle East on surface combatants and airborne reconnaissance platforms during countless named operations. Throughout the command’s existence, NIOC Bahrain Sailors have provided critical indications and warning to national decision makers and military commanders operating at the strategic, operational and tactical level of war, logging over 10,000 days underway on surface combatants and over 150,000 formally documented flight hours.
As a testament to the many successes of NIOC Bahrain over the years, Vice Admiral Ross Myers, Commander of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and 10th Fleet remarked to the crew, “Your legacy for providing U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Navy Central Command outstanding cryptologic warfare support will live on as an important part of our Navy’s history and the foundation for our continuing mission”.
“The Sailors of NIOC Bahrain continue to wow me with their flexibility and adaptability from operational requirements for a constantly shifting mission, to new qualifications and trainees,” said Master Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Kate Phillips, Senior Enlisted Leader, NIOC Bahrain. “These short tours are highly pressurized, and the junior Sailors at the Command thrive and succeed.”
Information has always been and will continue to be the key to winning wars. As the United States' adversaries continue to develop their warfighting capabilities, the importance of maintaining a comparative advantage in Information Warfare is ever growing. In the face of the Great Power Competition (GPC), Bahrain was a strategic place to operate out of and NIOC Bahrain brought together Cryptologic Technicians of all rates, deploying across all platforms, forward deployed from 5th Fleet Headquarters.
"CENTCOM was the perfect crucible in which to professionalize and execute the cryptologic mission for the Navy and Joint Force," said Vice Admiral TJ White, the first Commanding Officer of then Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) Bahrain from 1999-2001.
Initially established on Oct. 1, 1998, the U.S. Navy formally commissioned Naval Security Group Activity Bahrain on May 2, 1999, on Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama, Bahrain. On Sept. 30, 2005, NSGA Bahrain was administratively closed and was re-established on Oct. 1, 2005, as Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Bahrain.
NIOC Bahrain was a small command that continued to do big things around the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility up until the day of disestablishment. Sailors say the key behind the command’s operational success was the tight-knit community. “On a daily basis, I had the opportunity to closely interact with other rates on both a personal and professional level,” said Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 1st Class Jon Peale. “Our strong relationships greatly contributed to our ‘one team, one fight’ mentality and our ability to get the job done.”
“Crews of previous year have served from Al Udeid, Qatar to Isa Air Base to all corners of the maritime waters in 5th Fleet and one thing can be said of them all, they were a team- always looking out for one another and having each other’s back. They exemplified what it means to be a Navy Sailor- subject matter experts in their tradecraft and a jack of all trades for all other jobs”, remarked Commanding Officer Sarah Sherwood during the Decommissioning Ceremony.
The tight-knit community earned the command the Navy Network Warfare Command Retention Excellence award in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and the Golden Anchor for Retention in 2007 and 2020. “The personnel at the command have changed my mindset,” said Information Technician 3rd Class Demetre Bullard. “Through exceptional mentorship, I was able to set my career up for success, establish new goals, and learn the IT tradecraft from seasoned mentors.”
The Sailors assigned to NIOC Bahrain are known to display total professionalism, delivered with a smile on their face.
“Join the Navy, see the world -- that is exactly what my tour at NIOC Bahrain allowed me to do,” said Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) 1st Class Justin Ivey. This tour opened my eyes to the surface Navy and allowed me to see firsthand how the Fleet operates. When I wasn’t deployed, I was able to explore Bahrain from visiting the Tree of Life to … taking music lessons at the Bahrain Music Institute.”
Despite the small size of the command, NIOC Bahrain Sailors were active members of the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain community, making a base wide impact.
In particular, NIOC Bahrain Sailors were extremely involved in the base sexual assault prevention and response and suicide prevention programs, participating in numerous events and trainings such as Chalk the Walk and SafeTALK. “This tour has taught me how to be well rounded, because we all had to find the happy medium between operations and collateral duties,” said Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) 2nd Class Josiah Hurley. “My leadership was a big proponent of community service and setting aside time to show we care.”
“Having a NIOC Bahrain tour on your resume is a special thing,” said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Sheidt, senior military advisor for cyber policy to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and commanding officer of NIOC Bahrain from 2010 to 2012. “It says ‘I've done the hard jobs, in hard places, in hard circumstances.’ NIOC Bahrain Sailors are part of an elite group and with closure of the command, the mystique of NIOC Bahrain will become more precious. Everyone who has served at this duty station should take pride in the special reputation the command enjoys, and forever hold their teammates in high esteem -- for they are true shipmates in our finest naval expeditionary traditions.”
NIOC Bahrain’s mission was to provide and deploy trained cryptologic warfare officers and enlisted cryptologic and information systems personnel, expertise and equipment to support cryptologic and information operations for naval air, surface, sub-surface, joint, and coalition forces in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet.
U.S. Fleet Cyber Command (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, U.S. 10th Fleet 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.fcc.navy.mil/ or follow us on twitter @USFLEETCYBERCOM.
| Date Taken: | 10.14.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2021 12:44 |
| Story ID: | 407458 |
| Location: | NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN, BH |
| Web Views: | 798 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Farewell NIOC Bahrain, by LTJG Veronica Scott, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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