SAN DIEGO – Twenty-four fleet Sailors graduated from the Basic Shipboard Intelligence Course (BSIC) offered by Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) San Diego, Feb. 26.

BSIC provides non-intelligence active duty officers in paygrades W-2 to O4 and non-intelligence enlisted personnel in paygrades E-1 to E-8 assigned as collateral duty intelligence officers (CDIO), enlisted intelligence assistants and ships nautical or otherwise photographic interpretation and examination team members while underway or in port with the knowledge and skills to collect, produce, and disseminate visual and intelligence information reports as set forth in Navy directives/regulations with limited supervision. The one-week course is particularly beneficial to junior Sailors with limited experience with the fundamentals of intelligence operations.

“As an operations specialist, I have little background in intelligence,” said Chief Operations Specialist Patrick Jenkins from the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center. “The course gave me a solid foundation in basic intelligence functions that I can build on and be successful in the CDIO role.”

Additionally, the students had glowing reviews for the instructors.

“Intelligence Specialist 1st (IS1) Class Ferguson was great! She was patient and always ready to help us,” commented Cryptologic Technician (Technical) 1st Class Leslie Beldner from Surface Division Eleven. “IS1 was informative and she never made us feel inadequate as non-Intelligence rates. She made the course fun and easy to learn.”

“IS1 Ferguson was very knowledgeable of the course content and she was able to make real-world fleet comparisons with her previous shipboard experiences,” added Jenkins. “She was able to explain concepts in a way that a junior, non-intel rating Sailor could understand as well as in a way more senior intelligence specialists would remain engaged.”

To protect the entire force, IWTC San Diego implemented several controls to mitigate risks of COVID-19 transmission to include a self-assessment, daily temperature checks, social distancing, frequent hand washing, and regular sanitizing techniques.

“Although the COVID-19 environment has certainly impacted the training environment, we understand that training is still a priority,” commented Lt. Joseph Chua, a BSIC instructor. “With that, we as instructors continue to find a happy balance between training the fleet and maintaining student safety.”

IWTC San Diego, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT), provides a continuum of training to Navy and joint service personnel that prepares them to conduct information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.

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 the Center for Information Warfare Training domain, visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/CIWT, www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.