VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Virginia Beach hosted Midshipmen 1st Class from the United States Naval Academy (USNA) who participated in the first Information Warfare Summer Cruise, June 29.

It was a great opportunity for IWTC Virginia Beach to discuss the Navy’s information warfare community (IWC) accession training pipelines and life as an information warfare officer (IWO).

In the summer between their junior and senior year at the USNA, the Midshipmen 1st Class participate in an “immersion” summer cruise for approximately four weeks. The summer training block serves as the capstone of USNA’s maritime and leadership training.

The Midshipmen 1st Class prepare for the privilege to lead Sailors and Marines by acting as division officers in training and interacting with a Wardroom and Chief’s Mess. This cruise also helps them confirm their expectations about warfare community preferences. Warfare cruise options are surface, submarine, aviation, IWC, explosive ordinance disposal, special warfare, cyber and intelligence programs, leatherneck, or Marine air-ground task force training. Accordingly, the Midshipmen 1st Class should select a warfare cruise that reflects their future career desires. Those who are still uncertain about their warfare community preferences are encouraged to select a cruise of their second or third choice community to gain broader exposure to that community.

This is the first summer in which a dedicated IWC cruise has been developed for the Midshipmen 1st Class to participate. As part of the IWC cruise, they will visit various information warfare commands around the Hampton Roads area to interact with IWC officers and enlisted personnel while gaining a better understanding of the community at large.

During their time at IWTC Virginia Beach, they had the opportunity to discuss what they can expect from their IWC designator specific accession training pipelines, life as an IWO, as well as the detailing process they will experience in their first few years as a newly commissioned officer. The IWTC Virginia Beach staff were able to provide their own insights and experiences to the them while answering any questions asked.

“The first IWC dedicated summer cruise is a great opportunity for these Midshipmen 1st Class to make an informed decision to join the community and what they can expect as newly commissioned officers,” stated IWTC Virginia Beach Commanding Officer Cmdr. James Brennan. “It is important for them to understand how their chosen designators contribute to the various missions of the fleet, and we are excited to have been included in their summer training.”

Midshipmen 1st Class who are interested in selecting Naval Intelligence upon graduation from USNA will return to IWTC Virginia Beach later this summer to participate in several discussion panels with both the intelligence senior enlisted and junior officer staff to gain better insight into the intelligence community as well as an understanding of the intelligence specialist enlisted rating training pipelines.

IWTC Virginia Beach currently offers 59 courses of instruction in information technology, cryptology, and intelligence with an instructor and support staff of 278 military, civilian, and contract members who train over 6,600 students every year at five training sites in the Hampton Roads area. It is one of four school houses for Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) and also oversees learning sites at Jacksonville and Mayport, Florida; Kings Bay, Georgia; and Groton, Connecticut to continue aligning information warfare community training.

With four schoolhouse commands, a detachment, and training sites throughout the United States and Japan, CIWT trains approximately 26,000 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.