SCSTC ATRC staff wished Mr. Walter “Dwayne” Norwood, director of Aegis functional integration/future configuration, “Fair Winds and Following Seas” as he said goodbye to his Aegis family.
“Forty-two years of dedicated service to our nation is truly awe-aspiring,” said SCSTC ATRC’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Shaun Dennis. “Dwayne is a role model for our blended workforce. He was a first class petty officer in the Navy and even though he no longer served aboard a ship, he continued to take care of our warfighters. Thank you Dwayne for your unwavering service and commitment to our Navy and nation.”
Norwood began his career in the U.S. Navy in October 1981. After six years of service, Electronics Warfare Technician 1st Class Norwood transitioned to civilian life. He started working at ATRC in October 1987 as a software developer and systems quality assurance contractor. In February 1988, he transitioned from contractor to government civilian, establishing the role of information technology specialty system administrator division lead for ATRC’s director of training readiness. He quickly became an indispensable member of the Aegis training community and made significant program-wide impacts on Aegis training throughout its evolution.
Norwood guided the installation, connection, and testing of Aegis and associated training systems at the schoolhouse from the first baseline (BL) to BL 10. As the Aegis Weapon System evolved from a stand-alone combat system to a node of a combat system network, he ensured that ATRC’s training systems and networks kept pace. He performed countless studies and analyses translating them into white papers that defined the requirements to enhance training capabilities.
He interpreted and translated numerous simulation requirements that drove the ability to train combat system interoperability through distributed training across the labs at ATRC and Land Based Test Sites.
Mr. Jeff Noordyk, ATRC’s director of training (DOT), says Norwood was the driving force behind the requirements and specifications that influenced the development and installation of the Reconfigurable Combat Information Center Trainer (RCT), a trainer that is part of the Director, Surface Warfare’s (OPNAV N96) program of record, Surface Training Advanced Virtual Environment-Combat Systems (STAVE-CS), which was introduced in 2015 as a means to invest in training technologies, devices, and facilities to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and availability of all surface training.
“Dwayne worked closely with SCSTC’s technical support department, N9, me as DOT, Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center [SMWDC] Integrated Air and Missile Defense [IAMD] Division, and Surface Training Systems Program Office [PMS 339] to ensure that the RCT would meet training requirements,” Noordyk said. “He provided continuous testing, technical expertise, and configuration monitoring over a five-year period that resulted in a training system that provides the high-end tactical training needed to build lethality, warfighting, and tactical proficiency. Due to Dwayne’s technical expertise and tireless efforts, we are providing better-trained, better-qualified warfighters to the fleet.”
In June 2020, Norwood became the director of Aegis functional integration/future configuration.
Mrs. Amanda Blackman, SCSTC ATRC’s director of training and facilities readiness, first met Norwood while she was still uniform.
“Dwayne and I first worked together while I was a Chief Warrant Officer 3 and instructor at the schoolhouse,” she said. “Everything he accomplished was guided by his dedication to our Sailors. When I became a government civilian and then assumed my current position, I worked with Dwayne on a daily basis. His technical acumen, unique ability to translate training requirements into system capability, dedication to meeting the needs of our warfighters, and personal drive has kept ATRC on pace with evolving Aegis and fleet tactical training requirements. He will be greatly missed but I know Dwayne’s efforts will continue to ensure mission readiness for years to come.”
Norwood plans on spending time enhancing his tennis game with ambitions of instructing tennis.
“I am honored and blessed to have worked with so many subject matter experts, whom I consider good friends, throughout the years,” Norwood said. “I feel very fortunate to have helped shape our future warfighting force. I will miss my Aegis family but I am also excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for me and my family.”
Before his departure, Norwood provided guidance to his fellow employees.
“Have fun and take everything in stride,” he said.
For information about the Surface Combat Systems Training Command (SCSTC) AEGIS Training and Readiness Center (ATRC), visit
https://www.netc.navy.mil/SCSTC-ATRC/
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