The Sailors coming up in today’s Navy face unique challenges both on the front lines and back at home.
 
Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Monterey is instilling the concepts of warrior toughness in their new accession Sailors to meet those challenges head on and be a ready and lethal fighting force for the conflicts of tomorrow.
 
But what does it mean to be tough? In “A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority, Version 2.0,” retired U.S. Navy Adm. John Richardson, former Chief of Naval Operations, spells out the Navy’s idea of toughness.
 
“We can take a hit and keep going, tapping all sources of strength and resilience. Through rigorous training for operations and combat, the fighting spirit of our people, and the steadfast support of our families, we maintain a culture of warfighting excellence and hone our warfighting ethos. We don’t give up the ship, we never give up on our shipmates, and we never give up on ourselves. We are never out of the fight.”
 
Every month, IWTC Monterey holds a command-wide warrior toughness stand down. During the most recent stand down, Cmdr. Josie Moore, commanding officer, IWTC Monterey, and members of the IWTC Monterey staff, talked to the assembled Sailors about the importance of being tough and resilient in the Navy, specifically considering the challenges the Navy is facing today and in the future.
 
IWTC Monterey executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Eddie Martin discussed his own personal struggle with cancer during his time at the Naval Academy, and how his own toughness and resiliency got him through during his speech to the more than 500 Sailors in attendance.
 
Afterward, staff members sat down with groups of Sailors to discuss their own experiences from their time in the fleet and how the concepts of toughness and resiliency helped them to overcome challenges and be successful. Their shared experiences emphasized the point that warrior toughness is not a new concept in the Navy, but is a core attitude of successful Sailors proven to work for many years.
 
“Hearing different personal stories from all points in the chain of command was a great impetuous for meaningful group discussion,” said Cryptologic Technician Interpretive (CTI) 1st Class Sarah Wetzel, one of the coordinators of this month’s stand down. “Those stories made it easy to naturally incorporate what the Sailors just heard into a larger conversation of how it practically applied to them and their everyday lives. Lieutenant Commander Martin’s personal experience in particular resonated with me. My mother also struggled with cancer and hearing his perspective and approach in dealing with his own experience motivated me to want to do my best to ‘win each day’.”
 
CTI 1st Class Sara Schmitt, a staff member at IWTC Monterey, said, “Our warrior toughness stand downs are a great way to reinforce the concepts Sailors are taught at Recruit Training Command. They show this isn’t just another check the block training, but a series of tools (the students) can continue to implement and fine-tune throughout their Navy career. I think by sharing our varied experiences within that framework, we made the warrior toughness concept real and tangible for them to apply and be successful.”
 
“Toughness has always been about a mindset to me,” said Martin. “In sharing my own story, I was hoping to provide a spark to the team in letting them know that we all can push through things with the right mindset (mental toughness), valuable team support, and ability to focus on winning each day!”
 
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.
 
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