Navigating the Depths of Information Warfare: A Journey with U.S. Navy Midshipmen

by NAVIFOR Public Affairs Office

28 July 2023 SUFFOLK, Va. -- Midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy (USNA) and the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) embarked on a unique educational journey this summer as they toured various afloat and ashore commands focused on Navy Information Warfare (IW).  

The third annual Midshipmen IW Summer Cruise, sponsored by Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR), aims to both educate these future naval leaders on the critical role of IW to Naval operations, and prepare them for service selection week, when they select what designator they want to serve in upon commissioning.  

The IW Summer Cruise also gives unique opportunities for IW leaders to connect and communicate with the midshipmen on how IW underpins all other warfighting operations and the pivotal role IW plays in support of strategic competition, fleet design and distributed maritime operations.  

The IW Cruise is in the midst of its third block, with nearly 80 Midshipmen taking advantage of this first-hand look at the Navy’s IW community – the largest group so far.  This summer, for the first time, this group included NROTC Midshipmen, and is the first IW cruise that serves as an official midshipman qualification cruise, required for commissioning.

Midshipman Cole Ellis, a Florida native currently attending Vanderbilt University, has Cyber Warfare Engineer (CWE) in his sights. 

“I recognize the diverse array of opportunities the Navy provides that no other branch can: the opportunity to work in a fleet that is capable in the air, on the surface of the sea, below the surface, in cyberspace, and in special warfare,” said Ellis.  “I’m excited to be working in a realistic environment to further my abilities in the pillar areas of cybersecurity.  As a very new field within the Navy, I am interested in speaking to more CWE officers about their experiences throughout their respective careers and the opportunities they’ve had.” 

During “Core Week”, the first week of the cruise, midshipmen spent their time in the Hampton Roads area visiting local IW commands and platforms to learn how IW as a whole contributes to the overall mission of the Fleet.  With the growing field of IW designators, the various opportunities provided during the IW cruise give these midshipmen an understanding of IW capabilities, afloat and ashore, and how the different IW designators support the overall mission and other warfare commanders. 

Following Core Week, the midshipmen broke out into individual “strands” where for next two weeks they gained a more in-depth understanding of individual warfare areas, including CWE, Intelligence, Cryptology, Meteorology and Oceanography, and Information Professional communities.

In each interaction, Day One of Core Week included the “Welcome” introduction.  Block One was covered by Capt. Bryan Braswell, commander, Naval Information Warfighting Development Center
 (NIWDC), where he outlined NIWDC’s mission and the importance of IW to the Fleet.  Afterwards, the group toured the two co-located IW commands, Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command (NCDOC) and Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) in Suffolk, Va.

At NETWARCOM, the Midshipmen delved into the world of Assured Command and Control (AC2).  There the Midshipmen discussed mission priorities including mission assurance, cyberspace maneuver and communications resiliency.  At NCDOC they explored the intricacies of Defensive Cyber Operations, or DCO, learning about the continuous battle against sophisticated adversaries seeking to infiltrate and disrupt naval systems. 

The tour included a stop on the joint NETWARCOM / NCDOC watch floor, charged with ensuring secure and reliable operations of all Navy networks.  The would-be IW officers learned how the two commands shared a cooperative working relationship to support the Fleet in exercises, operations, and monitoring and mitigating network compromises or casualties. 

Commander, Naval Information Forces, Vice Adm. Kelly Aeschbach was on deck to greet the arriving Midshipmen, setting the pace by explaining how NAVIFOR is unique among all Navy Type Commands (TYCOMs). 

“NAVIFOR – and Navy Information Warfare – is not about platforms.  We are about people – teams of people.   IW is critical to operations and integrated throughout the Navy on every platform, and is embedded in all warfighting areas the Navy has to offer,” said Aeschbach.  “A career in IW is such a unique vocation because it allows you to take part in nearly every aspect of naval and joint operations and reinvent yourself between billets.”

Aeschbach also discussed the three pillars of IW:  AC2, Battlespace Awareness, and Integrated Fires, and how these three pillars support all the TYCOMs, as well as the Combatant Commanders.  

“No one in the Navy can effectively execute their mission without Information Warfare,” said Aeschbach.  “In this dense and complex environment, our mission set is at its prime.  No warfare area, anywhere in the world, can operate or succeed without the capabilities we provide.”

To get a sense of how IW is integrated in afloat commands, midshipmen from Block One visited USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and USS New York (LPD-21).  While on board IKE, the midshipmen interacted with ship’s company Sailors and officers as they toured the communications department, RADIO, and the aircraft carrier’s intelligence center, known as CVIC.  

Midshipmen also met with Carrier Strike Group Two’s Information Warfare Commander (IWC), Capt. Mitchell H. Finke.  He is charged with creating the ability to influence, deny, degrade or disrupt the decision-making abilities of adversaries and potential adversaries while protecting friendly forces, as well as assessing the information environment to support warfare commanders’ objectives within the Composite Warfare Commander construct.  The Carrier Strike Group IWC is a senior IW leadership position junior IW officers can aspire to when looking ahead at potential career path options.

Midshipman Madison Schaefer from Youngstown, Ohio, is aiming at commissioning in the intelligence community. 

“The IW Cruise has given me new perspectives on different routes I can take as an intelligence officer.  We were exposed to many different career opportunities and command locations within each  
community during this cruise,” said Schaefer.  “Because everyone takes their own path and chooses different routes within the intelligence community, it makes for a more well-rounded and diverse group of people with so much knowledge.”

The summer cruise didn’t just offer classified briefings on a watch floor, in a conference room or an inport cabin.  The future IW officers got to experience the type of operations they may support in the Fleet by trying their hand at the Navy Expeditionary Intelligence Command (NEIC) Visit Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) Climbing Trainer, which Schaefer successfully navigated.

“The VBSS trainer was super cool.  It’s not every day that you get to try to climb the same type of ladder that we use on our missions,” Schaefer said.  “I will tell you, that trying to climb a thin ladder that is swinging, is extremely difficult.”

The midshipmen also visited Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic (NCTAMS LANT) in Norfolk, where they were taught about the scope of responsibility for the Joint Fleet Telecommunications Operations Center Watch Officer and the variety of services NCTAMS LANT provides to the fleet, to include telecommunications support, IP services, naval messaging services, and troubleshooting support.

As the midshipmen explored the Fleet Weather Center Norfolk, they learned how meteorology plays a critical role in naval operations.  The importance of accurate weather forecasts for mission planning and execution became apparent as the Midshipmen engaged with meteorologists, both officer and enlisted, and discussed data analysis.  

Midshipmen also learned about the role of IW at other Hampton Roads commands, including Naval Information Warfare Training Group Norfolk, Theater Undersea Surveillance Command Atlantic, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Special Reconnaissance Team Two, and various afloat commands.

 “The Information Warfare Cruise occurs every year in Hampton Roads and the National Capital Region during three summer training blocks. The goal of this cruise is to provide 1/C Midshipmen the opportunity to explore which IW designator they wish to select during service selection,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jillian Homola, Instructor, Department of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, U.S. Naval Academy.  “Due to the broad scope of commands in these locations, no two cruises are the same and the midshipmen have opportunities to learn about IW’s role in Fleet operations, both afloat and ashore. Every command in the Navy employs Information Warfare and we want midshipmen to learn both the breadth and the depth of the IW community and job opportunities available to them.”

NAVIFOR’s mission is to generate, directly and through our leadership of the IW Enterprise, agile and technically superior manned, trained, equipped, and certified combat-ready IW forces to ensure our Navy will decisively DETER, COMPETE, and WIN.

For more information on NAVIFOR, visit the command Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NavalInformationForces/ or the public web page at https://www.navifor.usff.navy.mil.