By Seaman Jill Patterson
MONTEREY, Calif. -- Eight bells welcomed Vice Adm. Timothy White, commander of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet (FCC/C10F), during his visit to Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Monterey, Jan. 11.
IWTC Monterey is located on the Presidio of Monterey, home of the Defense Language Institute (DLI). IWTC Monterey, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT), provides a continuum of foreign language training to Navy personnel, which prepares them to conduct information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.
“You are faced with two major tasks,” White said during an all-hands call with IWTC Monterey Sailors. “First, assimilation into the military culture. Second, understanding the enemy and their culture. This is one of the hardest things we do in the military. Linguists help fleet commanders and commanders at sea understand that threat.”
All Sailors who graduate from DLI will move on to support one of many commands under the purview of FCC/C10F.
White challenged IWTC Monterey’s students to become lifelong learners and to continually seek out opportunities for training and education.
“DLI is the launching platform for service in the fleet,” added White. “Sailors need to see value in what they do, and education and training is an important part of that.”
White concluded with an “invitation to be exceptional”, and opened the floor to questions, which ranged from what motivated White to stay in the Navy to how the Navy is combatting new, innovative information warfare capabilities of other nations.
IWTC Monterey Sailors found themselves encouraged and inspired by the opportunity.
“The vice admiral gave all of us an important reminder about our purpose in the Navy as members of the intelligence community and how significant our jobs are in keeping a competitive edge with other world powers in the modern era,” said Seaman Marc Adelman, a student attached to IWTC Monterey.
The remainder of the visit consisted of discussions with senior leaders from IWTC Monterey and DLI, and a visit to a classroom in which service members were learning Mandarin Chinese.
"Vice Adm. White's visit to IWTC Monterey sends a compelling message that, regardless of all the tools and equipment an operational commander has at his or her disposal, Sailors and their training are at the foundation and heart of achieving any mission,” said Cmdr. Michael Salehi, commanding officer of IWTC Monterey. “His visit also drives home the chief of naval operation’s recently released new maritime strategy, which puts a significant emphasis on gaining advantages within cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum. Our Sailors need to understand that they will be an important part of achieving those advantages, which is exactly what Vice Adm. White highlighted today."
With four schoolhouse commands, two detachments, and training sites throughout the United States and Japan, CIWT is recognized as Naval Education and Training Command’s top learning center for the past two years. Training over 21,000 students every year, CIWT delivers 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 on Information Warfare Training Command Monterey, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt/IWTCmonterey/ and http://www.monterey.army.mil/Service_Units/IWTC_Monterey.html, or find them on Facebook.
For more news from Center for Information Warfare Training, visit www.navy.mil/local/cid/, http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt/, http://www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or http://www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.