Joining a legion of cyber warriors in the IDC as full fledged “war fighters” are intellectual warriors (our public affairs team of PAOs and Mass Communication Specialists). These folks are on the front lines in the battle of ideas.  After all, the pen has always been mightier than the sword.

Plaque from HYPO station in Pearl Harbor provided by CDR Rob Damsky

1.  Captain Joseph John Rochefort was a major figure in the U.S. Navy’s development of cryptologic and intelligence capabilities from 1925 to 1947.  He headed the Navy’s fledgling cryptanalytic organization in the 1920’s and provided singularly superb cryptologic support to the U.S. fleet during World War II, leading to victory in the Pacific.  At the end of his career (1942-1946), Captain Rochefort successfully headed the Pacific Strategic Intelligence Group in Washington, D.C..  In 1986, he posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions during the Battle of Midway.
2.  Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. TENTH Fleet is pleased to announce CDR James W. Adkisson III, USN, assigned to the staff of Commander, Carrier Strike Group THREE as this year’s winner of the Captain Joseph J. Rochefort Information Warfare (IW) Officer Distinguished Leadership Award.  CDR Adkisson’s contributions to the community include deploying with Special Operations Command Africa as the J2, where he maintained network integrity in support of coalition strikes and oversaw the analysis of recovered intelligence materials. During Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, he served in Iraq with the U.S. Army’s 402nd and 431st Civil Affairs Battalion and TENTH Mountain Division, where he planned routes and conducted combat patrols to counter RCIEDs, saving countless U.S. lives.  During Operation RESTORE HOPE/RESTORE PROMISE in Mogadishu, Somalia, he flew over 400 hours in direct support of combat operations and provided over-watch during the “Black Hawk Down” incident.  Additionally, CDR Adkisson has deployed as a Deputy Information Warfare Coordinator; he has accumulated several thousand hours in the air aboard VQ and VPU P-3 aircraft in operations around the globe; and, he has deployed in support of a variety of special undersea missions.
3. Congratulations to the following nominees for their significant leadership contributions to the IW mission:
   a. CDR Ann Casey, (DIWC) Carrier Strike Group ONE
   b. CDR Marc Ratkus, Commander, NAVIOCOM Colorado
   c. CDR Dominic Lovello, Commander, NAVIOCOM Whidbey Island
   d. CDR Michael Elliot, Cyber National Mission Team TWO
   e. LCDR David Barnes, XO, NAVIOCOM Pensacola
   f. LCDR Joshua Sanders, CRC, Carrier Strike Group TEN
   g. LT Brian Salter, NAVIOCOM Norfolk (EWTGU)
   h. LT Shawn Wilkinson, COMPACFLT N2/N39 Staff
   i. CWO4 Hayward Murray, Technical Director, NAVIOCOM Yokosuka
4. Special thanks to the following officers who provided peer nominations for this year’s consideration
   a. LCDR Troy Smith
   b. LCDR Brian Schulz
   c. LCDR Trevor Day
   d. LT Eren Cataloglu
   e. LCDR Kevin Barrett
   f. CDR Leonard Caver
   g. CDR Jenna Hausvik
   h. CDR Cynthia Keith
   i. CDR Michael Elliot
   j. LCDR Gary McConaghy
5. Congratulations and well done!  VADM Jan E Tighe, Commander,U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. TENTH Fleet.//

Huntsman, Jon M. (2008-10-29).
Winners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times

Montage of the Naval Security Group Command  presented to RADM Ike C. Cole at his change of command

On 11 March 1935, “Communications Security Group”, the predecessor organization to the Naval Security Group Command, was established. Today is our 80th Anniversary !

Navy tweet HERE.

From Navy News:

Captain Michial S. Warrington, CO U.S. Naval Hospital Rota, Spain, was fired by Rear Admiral Terry Moulton on Monday, March 9, 2015.

Rear Admiral Terry Moulton, commander, Navy Medicine East, fired Warrington for “loss of confidence in his judgment and ability to command” after a substantiated investigation of unprofessional behavior.

Warrington has been reassigned to Navy Medicine East in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Captain Todd Wagner, the hospital’s executive officer, has temporarily assumed command until a permanent replacement is named.

Is Letter Writing A Lost Art?  You can read the entire article HERE.

One of the best parts of my day is getting the mail. I know this is not the case for everyone. Bills come in the mail. Useless flyers from new dentists and Chinese restaurants in town also come in the mail. But every evening when I head out to my mailbox…

I hope there will be a letter.

The act of purchasing a card, writing a note, buying a stamp, and mailing the letter spoke of care and love louder than any email I ever received.

“And none will hear the postman’s knock without a quickening of the heart. For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?” – W.H. Auden

Then, there is the matter of thank you letters. I will never forget all the times as a kid when my mother made me sit down at the dining room table and write thank you notes to anyone who’d ever sent me a check, a gift, or did something nice for me. I think she was trying to convey the importance of acknowledgement when another human being displays a kind and generous nature. We’ve all had those moments when we’ve sent a wedding gift only to never hear from the bride or groom that it was even received. Bummer.

It’s not about getting a huge ovation so you can stroke your ego about how awesomely kind you are, but it is nice to know that your friend appreciated the time and care you took to send a gift. There have been times when I’ve neglected to send a thank you note for a gift and felt like the biggest jerk, riddled with remorse, and paralyzed by laziness. I am not proud of these lapses in acknowledgement because the old fashioned part of me thinks it’s only polite to say thank you. I’ve sent thank you emails and texts for the simple immediacy of letting someone know how a gift they’ve sent has thrilled me, but part of me fights against this instant gratification of the digital age for the simple fact that it’s not as personal as a letter.

Call me a sentimental fool, but I worry that the art of letter writing will be utterly lost, disappearing into the binary code of the future. Many schools no longer teach cursive handwriting, and children grow up learning how to use iPads and computers from infancy. Heck, my cats even enjoy the occasional iPad game. But something beautiful is vanishing. I can recognize who a letter is from by the handwriting on the envelope. Handwriting is part of our identity, and yet we have little need for it in the digital age, making a letter all the more special and personal.

Despite murmurings about its pending collapse, I hope the US Postal Service can hang in there and people will be able to send letters for many years to come. I also hope that more people are encouraged to resurrect this lost art of communicating with the handwritten word. There are so many reasons to write a letter to someone you care about, if only to know that it might bring a much-needed smile to their face.

From http://gracehopperfilm.com

“What is a Thought Leader? Thought leaders are the informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise. They are trusted sources who move and inspire people with innovative ideas; turn ideas into reality, and know and show how to replicate their success. They create a dedicated group of friends, fans and followers to help them replicate and scale those ideas into sustainable change not just in one company but in an industry, niche or across an entire ecosystem.” 

Glenn Llopis says this about thought leaders over at Forbes.com – “Those leaders in your organization that are applying new ways of thinking to propel growth, innovation and opportunity are the game changers. They are the ones that intimately know the mechanics involved with each line of business, trends, recent challenges, competitive pressures and where the growth opportunities exist. Game changers represent those in your innovation lab that champion ideas and fuel new thinking.”

To a great extent, our IW Junior Officers are some of the leading thinkers in our community. This new generation of leaders is leading the charge for change and, in some cases, calling for a return to our cryptologic roots.