San Diego, Calif. – Sailors assigned to Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) San Diego participated in a community service event during the holiday season to celebrate Wreaths Across America on Dec. 16, 2023.

Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit organization established in 2007 by Morrill Worcester and assisted by veterans and truckers, distributes wreaths for placement on veteran gravesites at military cemeteries on designated Saturdays in December.

Information Systems Technician 1st Class Angel Segarra, president of IWTC San Diego’s First Class Petty Officer Association (FCPOA), organized the command’s volunteers to help distribute 8,000 wreaths throughout Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on Point Loma.  This is the second year that a group of Sailors volunteered to participate in uniform and support the wreath distribution efforts within the local community.

 “The wreath laying ceremony is an important annual event where we, as service men and women, get a humbling reminder of why we raised our right hand to serve this nation,” said Segarra. “It’s an opportunity to give back a small piece of our time to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us and our families to live free.”

The event included local San Diego chapters of the Boys and Girls Club, Scouts, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFWs), the Patriot Guard Riders, and Gold Star Families.  The goal of Wreaths Across America is to remember the fallen, honor those who have served, and teach children the value of freedom. 

Following a ceremony, volunteer Sailors and their families laid wreaths at veteran’s headstones in the national cemetery.

“The efforts made by Wreaths Across America and its volunteers are a visual act of honor and respect to the men and women who served before us,” continued Segarra. “Through each wreath laid, we are able to say thank you to the fallen and their families for their sacrifice. The event is a powerful way to show that freedom comes with a price, paid by those who aren’t here to pass the torch.”

IWTC San Diego, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT), provides a continuum of training to Navy and joint service personnel at sites across the Pacific 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 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.