Better Together: NAVIFOR Summit Links Warfighter Resilience to Operational Readiness
28 July 2023
SUFFOLK, Va. -- Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) hosted the inaugural Warfighting Resiliency Summit July 25-27, 2023, in Suffolk, Va.
More than 150 Sailors and civilians participated in the event, representing Navy Information Warfare commands from around the globe. The summit is specifically aimed for IW leaders to engage with subject matter experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing IW Sailors in order to build strong cultures, drive performance and promote readiness.
The theme for the summit, “Better Together,” emphasizes the connections between command leadership teams and Sailors in enhancing overall mental health and wellness. During the summit, participants learned strategies to improve inclusion, promote mental and spiritual wellness, and enhance unity and connection within commands.
NAVIFOR Commander Vice Adm. Kelly Aeschbach stressed the importance of active participation in the event to attending leaders.
“This summit is a critical way to encourage leaders at all levels to share how they deal with mental health challenges, what they’re doing to build resilience, and how they’re developing connectedness in their commands to support their Sailors and build strong teams,” said Aeschbach.
Aeschbach also put out a call to action to all participants to engage in thoughtful discussions and assess themselves and their teams.
“Your participation here is a key signal that you take very seriously our responsibility to build connected, resilient teams,” said Aeschbach. “What matters most is how you bring these tools and these conversations back to your commands and have authentic, necessary discussions with your deckplate leaders and Sailors.”
The summit featured interactive workshops, peer-to-peer program discussions and several panel sessions for senior leaders and triads, in which junior officers and enlisted Sailors were encouraged to participate. Discussion panels on mental health challenges, inclusion, and leadership and family issues empowered attendees to give direct feedback on issues and challenges directly related to operational readiness.
NAVIFOR Force Master Chief Laura Nunley affirmed the importance of this in-person, two-way communication.
“As the IW force master chief, I take very seriously my role, and the role of all our IW leaders, in meeting with our IW Sailors around the Fleet and learning what barriers they have to performing to their full potential,” said Nunley. “This summit is meant to address these concerns head-on, with subject matter experts on hand to provide IW leaders valuable tools and resources on Sailor mental health, wellness, and resilience.”
“The discussions over these last three days are absolutely essential to ensuring our IW Sailors, from our leaders down to the deck plates, are ready for any operation,” said Nunley.
Mental health promotion was a critical component of the summit, with experts on hand to discuss sleep hygiene, the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, spiritual readiness, and community identity. The NAVIFOR force medical team also provided updates on watchfloor studies and various NAVIFOR mental health programs.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Robert Torrison, NAVIFOR’s force mental health provider, the summit combined the topics of past mental health and diversity, equity and inclusion summits into one overall tool for an IW Sailor’s leadership toolbox. With the growing demand for IW professionals in the Fleet, the summit promoted access to critical resources that ensure every IW Sailor is ready to meet the mission, in a climate that enables every Sailor and civilian to mentally and physically thrive.
“This summit puts real action behind the tenet that our people are our most valuable resource – and this is the responsibility of every leader,” said Torrison. “We must all work to create an environment that is open and conducive to having sometimes difficult and uncomfortable discussions with our people and that encourages them to come forward when they need help.”
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.
-USN-