Corry United: Military Taking Care of Military

PENSACOLA, Fla. - In times of adversity, the Navy and the other services desires for their personnel to be as resilient as possible. A group onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola Corry Station, Pensacola, Florida, not only helps Sailors, but all new accession students to stay resilient and maintain high morale.

The group, Corry United, is a Morale, Welfare and Recreation organization for the entire student population at Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Corry Station.

The group allows the students to plan events throughout the year with the staff, allowing them to dictate their own fun, offered Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 1st Class Tyesha Olson, an IWTC instructor and member of Corry United.

“The whole idea behind this group is to show students that they can still have reasonable fun in a training command, while setting a positive tone for them when they go out into the fleet,” added Olson. “It also lets staff members come out and show their support. The staff is always more relaxed at the events and it gives them a chance to show their more playful side with the students.”

One example of an event that Corry United has done was the recent Fall Festival, where students were given the chance to come out and carve pumpkins, eat food and interact in a social setting. Events like these help the students unwind and stay resilient.

“I really like that we can have events where we get a say in what’s going on,” said Cryptologic Technician (Collection) Seaman Noevely M. Garza, an IWTC Corry Station student. “It’s not the same old thing over and over again, each event is unique and you can tell there is time put into it.”

The events give the students alternative ways to spend their time, other than going into town and engaging in potentially destructive activities or events. Having these alternatives are crucial to building good habits for students.

“Corry United is important,” said Olson. “I remember having been where these students are now and there wasn’t a lot of groups geared towards young servicemembers at my command. Here on Corry Station though, every event we have planned up to this point is geared towards them and they always receive positive feedback from staff and students. A lot of younger servicemembers jump at the chance to do something to get them up and out of their rooms.”

“Corry United, and their events, are good influences on top of entertaining ways to spend students’ time onboard Corry Station,” shared Seaman Andrew Schneider, another IWTC Corry Station student. “Honestly, with the events, they kind of give me a good excuse to save money and still get something out of my time here. It’s a good trade-off: I get to have fun while I see my friends and instructors and still stay out of trouble.”

Olson hopes that as time goes on, the events that Corry United runs will continue to impact more students, eventually leading to students impacting more servicemembers through their careers.

“As a new servicemember being away from home for the first time, I would want to know how I can help make my time better while building good habits,” said Olson. “These events give the students ideas and examples that they can use once they get to their respective future commands. I hope the students know that we as staff members care, not just in the classroom, but outside of it as well. Hopefully that carries on into their own careers too.”

With events being restricted due to COVID-19 countermeasures, Corry United wants to let students know there are still activities for them to do, and that they will continue to work with them for their benefit.

“We want everyone to know that you do not have to be stuck in your room, “added Olson. “We hold these activities to lift your spirits and allow you to build long-lasting friendships with other students. We’re always looking for fun ideas too! If you’re a new accession servicemember and have ideas, please bring them to our attention!”

IWTC Corry Station is a part of the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT). With four schoolhouse commands, a detachment, and training sites throughout the United States and Japan, CIWT trains over 22,000 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 Center for Information Warfare Training domain, visit https://www.public.navy.mil/netc/centers/ciwt/, www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.