PENSACOLA, Fla. - Those serving at Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Corry Station learn the importance of information warfare as part of modern warfare.
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| Photo by Ensign Tiffany Savoie, Navy Office of Community Outreach |
One of the sailors continuing the tradition of maritime superiority through information warfare is Seaman Apprentice Kienan Haws, a native of Eagle River, Alaska.
Haws is a 2021 graduate of Alaska Military Youth Academy.
Haws joined the Navy less than one year ago. Today, Haws serves as an information systems technician and student at IWTC Corry Station.
“My grandfather is a retired Army sergeant who was a tank driver and has great stories and a fulfilling life,” Haws said. "I wanted that along with a need to become a professional and quit the dead-end jobs."
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Eagle River.
“Growing up in Alaska, you had to find peace in the little things,” Haws said. "It taught me to keep myself open to the beauty of everyday life."
IWTC Corry Station is located at Naval Air Station Pensacola’s Corry Station, known as the “cradle of cryptology.” It falls under the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT), one of the largest Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) learning centers. Through its “street to fleet” focus, NETC recruits civilians and transforms them into skilled warfighters ready to meet the Navy’s current and future needs. With four schoolhouse commands, two detachments and training sites throughout the United States and Japan, CIWT provides instruction for more than 26,000 students every year, delivering information warfare professionals to the Navy and joint services.
The CIWT domain, along with all other Navy training commands, is transforming and innovating its training programs through Ready, Relevant Learning (RRL), a pillar of Sailor 2025. Sailor 2025 is a program used to improve and modernize personnel management and training systems to more effectively recruit, develop, manage, reward and retain the force of tomorrow. It focuses on empowering sailors, updating policies, procedures, and operating systems, and providing the right training at the right time in the right way to ensure sailors are ready for the fleet.
The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.
According to Navy officials, “America is a maritime nation and for 250 years, America’s Warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom.”
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
Haws serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation's prosperity and security.
Haws has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“I am most proud of the financial success being in the Navy has given me,” Haws said. “Being rent-free with food galore has made my bank account quite attractive.”
Haws can take pride in serving America through military service.
“Serving in the Navy means being part of the big picture and showing myself and the world what an asset I can be,” Haws said. "It means fully committing yourself to being a professional in the world and a part of something greater than yourself."
Haws is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my mom and dad, Misty and Josh,” Haws said. “I want to thank them for always seeing something in me I never knew to look for.”
“I would like to be a high school teacher at the Alaska Military Youth Academy (AMYA), Fort Richardson,” Haws added. "At-risk kids in Alaska attend there, and I want to be a good role model for them.”