Navy Cyber Forces Commander Addresses Intelligence Officer Course Graduates

By Darlene Goodwin, Navy Cyber Forces Public Affairs

Virginia Beach, Va. (NNS) -- The Commander of Navy Cyber Forces addressed 23 junior officers in the latest graduating class of the Navy Intelligence Officer Basic Course at the Navy Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center on board Naval Air Station Oceana Dam Neck Annex, Virginia Beach, Va., June 25.

Rear Adm. Tom Meek spoke to the graduates, NMITC staff and family members about similarities and differences between 2010 and 1982, when he graduated from Intelligence school. He said the most significant similarity was the importance of intelligence to military operations.

"Operations are intelligence-driven like never before," Meek said. "In Iraq and Afghanistan, demand for intelligence is at an all-time high. Both high-end operations, such as capture and kill, and low-end operations, such as counterinsurgency, could not be done without deep intelligence work."

The admiral also discussed the new Information Dominance Corps, which brings together Navy specialists in various information-centric fields.

"The IDC (is) a cadre of professionals who will manage the vast amount of information available in support of naval and joint operations," Meek said. "Embrace this change. Each individual community will maintain its identity, while enjoying more opportunities for cross training and varied assignments."

Evidence of the close collaboration between the IDC communities, Meek said, was the assignment of NMITC Commanding Officer Capt. Don Darnell, an Information Warfare Officer, as the first cross-detailed leader of the intelligence training facility.

Two graduates received special recognition at the ceremony. Lt. Kevin Barnard was presented with the Admiral Porterfield Award for Excellence, and Ensign Percy Atangcho received the Rear Admiral Showers Award for Academic Excellence.

"It was awe inspiring to hear the admiral's viewpoint on where the intelligence community was (nearly) 30 years ago and where we are today in the current Information Dominance Corps," Barnard said. "It was also eye-opening when put in perspective of how technology has changed, but the constant in our continued success is the dedication of the people who serve."