Chief Petty Officers from Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Monterey and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) are combining resources, facilities, and facilitators to provide Enlisted Leader Development (ELD) courses to Sailors stationed in Monterey, California.
Chief Information Systems Technician Elizabeth Mahaney, an IWTC Monterey staff member, and Chief Information Systems Technician Dalton Berry, a student attending NPS, are leveraging more than 25 years of combined naval leadership experience to facilitate the character-focused curriculum of Intermediate and Advanced ELD courses. So far, they have graduated 30 Sailors across 15 ratings and 3 commands.
“One of my favorite parts of being an ELD Facilitator is that every class is completely different,” Mahaney reflected. “As facilitators, we guide the topic of discussion while encouraging open dialogue, so each topic remains relevant to the students in that particular course, and they leave with a different frame of reference.”
ELD courses have shifted from a class environment to one that is intensely interactive. The 15th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON), Russell L. Smith (retired), saw the need to revamp the Navy’s enlisted leader development program to empower Sailors to utilize critical thinking techniques and situational leadership concepts to maintain a warfighting edge. In 2019, after enlisting fleet feedback and input from professional education centers such as the Naval Leadership and Ethics Center (NLEC) and the Navy’s Senior Enlisted Academy (SEA), a new ELD continuum was developed.
The revised ELD curriculum focuses on character, ethics, self-awareness, decision-making, and feedback. These courses symbolize a renewed commitment to enlisted naval leadership, Sailor development, and align with Navy’s Culture of Excellence. It also aims to utilize facilitators throughout the Fleet to enable a diversity of thoughts and ideas on difficult topics.
Mahaney, a seasoned ELD facilitator, expressed enthusiasm at the idea of bringing together Sailors from different communities and ratings to explore the science of leadership.
“Having a variety of rates, experiences, and personal/professional backgrounds makes each class more interactive and exciting,” Mahaney exclaimed. “Students enter the class as strangers and leave with a strong network and new friends. This happens by building trust, sharing information, being open to feedback, and having tough discussions where they can still shake hands at the end and respect each other’s views.”
Master Chief Cryptologic Technician Interpretive Laura Stout, the IWTC Monterey Senior Enlisted Leader and prior Senior Enlisted Academy Faculty Advisor, credits the Navy’s investment in the continuous leadership development among the enlisted force as the reason why a growing number of young leaders have the competence and confidence to lean in and lead forward when provided with the opportunity.
“Defined simply, leadership is equal to influence,” Stout explained. “ELD facilitators set the tone and the course culture beginning with day one. Pairing together facilitators from different communities who successfully led personnel and programs across multiple platforms and ratings is imperative to achieving a successful, enjoyable, and diverse leadership course experience. Building winning teams, establishing networks in the local area, and combining available resources when possible is the very definition of active leadership.”
Taught off-site by facilitators certified by NLEC, ELD courses utilize standardized curriculum and content ensuring Sailors receive quality training that will reinforce critical skills and key leadership concepts throughout a career.
Beginning in 2025, ELD course completion will be a requirement to compete for advancement. Because of the dedication of ELD facilitators inside and outside of the Information Warfare training domain, Sailors stationed in Monterey, California will be ready for the upcoming 2025 advancement cycles.
“Being able to have all the commands in Monterey come together and facilitate ELD courses for the Sailors has been wonderful,” Mahaney lauded. “Seeing Sailors from different commands working towards a common goal and leave with some additional tools in their leadership toolkit and a network of people to reach out to is priceless.”
IWTC Monterey, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) provides a continuum of foreign language training to Navy personnel, which prepares them to conduct information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.