IWTC San Diego Team Trainer Sharpens Spears of Naval Special Warfare IW Sailors

SAN DIEGO – Fourteen Sailors completed the Naval Special Warfare Intelligence Team Trainer (NSWITT) at Information Warfare Training (IWTC) San Diego, Nov. 20.

NSWITT provides intelligence officers and enlisted (E4-O4) personnel the skills to conduct real time masters-level intelligence support to special operations forces in deployed remote environments with little to no supervision.

“NSW ITT throws NSW information warfare professionals in an environment manufactured to reflect the mission sets based on the current deployed SEAL Team operations being conducted and truly puts their team cohesion to the test by magnifying the stressors they will experience on the deployment,” said Lt. Kristoffer Abonal, NSWITT instructor. “Students are assessed and critiqued on their utilization and mastery of NSW tradecraft fundamentals they learned in the NSW Intelligence Course and have since spent the entirety of their task group integration training phase of the pre-deployment cycle refining in order to provide full spectrum intel support to the full range of SOF operations being planned and conducted downrange. Students provide end-of-day intelligence briefs to senior NSW leaders ranging from the commanding officer of their SEAL Team, to the Naval Special Warfare Command director of intelligence, highlighting the level of importance and vested interested senior NSW stakeholders have in NSW ITT.”

The five-day course uses realistic scenarios based on real-world current operations to exercise intelligence support across the full range of Naval Special Warfare operations.

“The team trainer offers an agile way of changing problem sets and gives an opportunity to simulate real-world scenarios,” added Chief Intelligence Specialist Stephen Gondry.

The NSWITT further prepares intelligence personnel to fulfill their missions as a key part of the information warfare community as they collect, analyze and disseminate of critical information; participate in reconnaissance missions; provide intelligence support to special operations forces and multinational military forces; advise executive-level decision makers in U.S. government; and conduct analysis of the inner workings of adversaries and develop unmatched intelligence of the battlespace during wartime.

“As a ST-17 reservist body, I have limited opportunity to access to these tools so it is very useful to be able to come here and train,” commented Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Brian Gardner. “The course emphasizes the importance of teamwork and gives an opportunity to sharpen our skills.”

The IWTC San Diego team was also lauded for the training.

“Mr. Mike Moss is vital for the community,” said Lt. Michael Denning. “He’s a phenomenal instructor.”

IWTC San Diego, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT), provides a continuum of training to Navy and joint service personnel 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 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 the Center for Information Warfare Training domain, visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/CIWT, www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.