Photo By Jason Rodman | Vice Adm. Kelly Aeschbach, Commander of Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) and the...... read more read more
SUFFOLK, Va. – Vice Adm. Kelly Aeschbach, commander, Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) and the Navy’s IBoss, hosted the annual NAVIFOR Commanders’ Summit in Suffolk, Va., Nov. 28-30.
More than 180 Navy Information Warfare (IW) flag officers, commanders, and enlisted leaders representing 51 IW commands as far as Naples, Bahrain and Hawaii gathered at the three-day event. With a theme of “Information Warfare: Delivering Decision Advantage,” the summit featured engaging discussion panels, presentations and dialogue on current IW challenges and priorities.
IBoss opened the summit by highlighting the critical role of IW in shaping the strategic environment.
“Conflict and competition make what we do in Information Warfare incredibly relevant, and incredibly rewarding,” said Aeschbach. “IW is constantly in demand in this competitive environment – we have no spare capacity. If we want to stay in competition, we need to do IW exceptionally well - every leader and every professional in this room plays a critical role.”
For the first time ever, the summit kicked off with a “Brain Trust” dialogue and discussion of 11 IW flag officers who have retired since NAVIFOR's inception as a type command. They each shared unique perspectives on where they see the community and Navy IW in future years.
“It was incredibly important to me to include our retired IW leaders in our summit,” noted IBoss. “Each was instrumental in shaping the community we know today, and I believe the candid dialogue we fostered through this session shows how committed we are as a community to assessing ourselves and aiming toward continual improvement. These leaders’ insights will undoubtedly enhance our ability to address current challenges and prepare for future missions.”
The summit also included discussions on IW readiness issues, to include ashore readiness, training for the high-end fight, and IW manpower and manning.
Ms. Liz Nashold, NAVIFOR’s deputy commander, stressed the importance of incorporating IW into the Live, Virtual Constructive (LVC) training environment, which she noted is IBoss’ top priority.
“We’re working to bring IW into the LVC training environment because in no other warfighting area is LVC more important than ours,” said Nashold. “Incorporating IW fully into LVC will allow us to truly measure our proficiency and accelerate and improve our capability.”
The final day of the summit aimed at providing resources to IW command triads to increase command resilience and address barriers to success. During a panel focused on Get Real Get Better, commanders shared how they used Navy-proven leadership and problem solving best practices to empower their people to achieve exceptional performance.
“Get Real Get Better is about mirrors and microscopes – and not about microphones,” noted Capt. Tim Krippendorf, NAVIFOR’s liaison to Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. Tenth Fleet. “It’s about looking at yourself, your own command and your own processes and using data to create a plan that is measured and analyzed. GRGB can be extremely powerful when it’s executed properly.”
Many commanders appreciated the ability to network face-to-face with fellow IW leaders and work though shared challenges, to include Cdr. Hannah Bealon, commanding officer of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station (NCTS) San Diego.
“This summit was amazing!” said Bealon. “It provided an opportunity for my fellow commanding officers and I to share solutions that will remove barriers for our Sailors. I am looking forward to participating again next year!”
IBoss closed the summit by sharing her thoughts on the health of the IW force, and encouraging all leaders to connect with NAVIFOR for assistance to more rapidly effect change when needed.
“I sleep well at night because we have so many exceptional people in Navy IW,” said Aeschbach. “The caliber of the Sailors in your commands is truly eye-watering, and we’re fortunate to have such exceptional talent in our community.”
NAVIFOR’s mission is to generate, directly and through our leadership of the IW Enterprise, agile and technically superior manned, trained, equipped, and certified combat-ready IW forces to ensure our Navy will decisively DETER, COMPETE, and WIN.
For more information on NAVIFOR, visit the command Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NavalInformationForces/ or the public web page at https://www.navifor.usff.navy.mil.
| Date Taken: | 12.01.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.01.2023 14:17 |
| Story ID: | 458910 |
| Location: | SUFFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 509 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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