VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Virginia Beach’s Virginia Beach Multi-Cultural Committee hosted a United States territory display ceremony that included American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands, on Mar. 1, 2024.

American Samoa was represented during the ceremony by IWTC Virginia Beach’s own Seaman Lolua Leomiti, who takes pride in her culture and heritage.

Prior to the ceremony Leomiti spoke about her upbringing in American Samoa, her ultimate goal after serving in the military, and what she values the most about her culture.

Leomiti was born Sep. 7, 2001, on Tutuila, an island of American Samoa, where she lived up until reporting to boot camp in May of 2023. She then reported to IWTC Virginia Beach and has been at the command since graduating boot camp. She is currently waiting to begin her schooling as an Intelligence Specialist, which begins with Intelligence Specialist A-School, the basic accession course for her future rating.

Leomiti said her father is a source of great inspiration for her. He spent 22 years in the U.S. Navy as a Machinist’s Mate before retiring. After completing his time in the service, he went back to American Samoa to reap the benefits of his military service with his family, a path that Leomiti hopes to follow as her ultimate goal after serving in the Navy.

Leomiti’s insight about Samoan culture proved to be interesting and enlightening.

After moving to the states, Leomiti said that she found that speaking to her fellow Samoans in their native tongue helps to brings her closer to them because they can greet each other in their language and feel a sense of togetherness in that respect. Samoan culture has a profound saying that “you can take a person out of the island, but you can’t take the island out of a person” and that she will always cherish her culture while she is in the Navy.

Leomiti spoke about her culture’s love of song and dance, how elders are greatly respected, how the community comes together for large events, and how her family and others can be self-sustaining on Tutuila.

Samoan culture did not develop a written language until the 19th century; because of that, their culture is dependent on orally passing down its history from one generation to the next through song. Leomiti also spoke exuberantly about her culture’s love of dancing, specifically the Siva, a graceful, fluid storytelling dance that is a major part of Samoan culture.

She said she appreciates her culture’s great respect for its elders and sense of community. When a wedding or funeral is held, the community comes together with people from across the island to attend the event, including other village chiefs and even others from the opposite side of the island. Whether in celebration, mourning, or both, Samoan culture relies heavily on a sense of community.

Leomiti concluded by explaining about how a many Samoan families are self-sustaining on the island, a lifestyle that she takes pride in. While growing up on the island, her family grew, harvested, sold, and ate their own crops and also built their own homes on land that they own. When she leaves the service, Leomiti said she greatly desires to rejoin her family on Tutuila and own a portion of her family’s land herself.

IWTC Virginia Beach currently offers 74 courses of instruction in information technology, cryptology, and intelligence with an instructor and support staff of over 300 military, civilian, and contract members who train over 7,000 students yearly at five training sites. It is one of four schoolhouses for the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) and also oversees learning sites at Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Jacksonville and Mayport, Florida; Kings Bay, Georgia; and Groton, Connecticut.

With four schoolhouse commands, two detachments, and training sites throughout the United States and Japan, Center for Information Warfare Training trains over 26,000 students every year, delivering trained information warfare professionals to the Navy and joint services. Center for Information Warfare Training also offers more than 200 courses for cryptologic technicians, intelligence specialists, information systems technicians, electronics technicians, and officers in the information warfare community.