Michael V. Treat, Director for Program Integration on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, met with the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) and Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Corry Station leadership, received an information warfare (IW) training tour at Corry Station on May 15.

Treat had an office call with Capt. Chris Bryant, commanding officer, CIWT and Marc Ratkus, executive director, CIWT; and Cmdr. Pete Manzoli, commanding officer, IWTC Corry Station where Treat stressed that the purpose of his visit was to gain in-depth knowledge of the training within the CIWT domain to be a better advocate for resources.

CIWT and IWTC Corry Station leaders provided Treat with an overview of all the information warfare training CIWT provides and the courses improving to keep up with rapidly changing technology and tactics and addressed the challenge of allocating resources.   

After the meeting, Information Systems Technician Chief Benjamin Wildes, N7/4 course manager for IWTC Corry Station explained the training cycle for Sailors in the Information Systems Technician rating, before Treat was given a demonstration of the Multipurpose Reconfigurable Training System 3-Dimensional (MRTS 3D®) in the cryptologic training facility.  Cryptologic Technician Technical 1st Class Marshal Matters, a Cryptologic Technician Technical “A” School instructor who uses the MRTS 3D® heavily in his curriculum, demonstrated one of the many virtual training scenarios that is applied to real world job experiences.

Matters emphasized the cost-savings created by using the MRTS 3D® trainers, as well as the increase in “sets and reps” on the equipment each Sailor receives while working on their own virtual system.

During the tour Cyber Warfare Technician Senior Chief Cecilia Medina, cyber training manager for IWTC Corry Station, provided Treat an overview of the defensive cyber training Sailors in the Cyber Warfare Technician rating receive. Then, Cyber Warfare Technician Senior Chief Michael Turano, Interactive On-Net (ION) operator mentor lead for IWTC Corry Station, explained the progress made with Computer Network Operations Qualification Courses (CNOQC) and the Marine Corps Cyber Operations Readiness Curriculum (MCCORC) course.

After the tour, Treat had in-depth discussions with CIWT leaders in charge of training, resource management, and budgeting about prioritizing curriculum development and resource allocation based on critical issues, justifying allocation based on available resources, and emphasizing the need for more comprehensive curriculum that addresses the Navy’s cyber requirements.

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.