SAN DIEGO – Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Baray, a native of West Covina, California, joined the Navy to serve his country.
Now, six years later, Baray is stationed with a command responsible for teaching future information warriors the skills required to defend America around the world.
“I’m taking my ship experience and knowledge and preparing new sailors that are getting ready to go to their first ship,” said Baray.
Baray, a 2010 graduate of South Hills High School, is a cryptologic technician operating from the Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) in San Diego.
“I teach sailors shipboard signals, intelligence and how to operate multi-million dollar collection systems,” said Baray.
Baray credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in West Covina.
“I was taught to be open to different points of view," said Baray. "California is a very diverse state. It's important to learn to work together as a team.”
IWTC San Diego is just one component that makes up the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) domain, headquartered at Naval Air Station Pensacola Corry Station, Florida.
Charged with developing the future technical cadre of the information warfare community, the CIWT domain leads, manages and delivers Navy and joint force training to 22,000 students annually. With 1,200 military, civilian and contracted staff members, CIWT oversees about 200 courses at four information warfare training commands, two detachments, and additional learning sites located throughout the United States and Japan.
CIWT is responsible for training enlisted cryptologic technicians, information systems technicians, intelligence specialists, and electronics technicians. CIWT also provides training to cryptologic warfare, information professional, intelligence, and foreign area officers that prepares them to be prepared to wage battle and assure the nation’s success in this burgeoning warfare arena.
There are many reasons to be proud of naval service, and Baray is most proud of completely revamping his course of instruction to modernize the curriculum to prepare new sailors for the modern challenges they'll face in the fleet.
“You always want to leave a job better than you found it," said Baray. "The old course was dated and in the information world everything has to be up to the minute.”
America is a maritime nation, and the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Baray and other sailors and staff know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes serving as a key part of the information warfare community in its mission to gain a deep understanding of the inner workings of adversaries, and developing unmatched knowledge of the battlespace during wartime.
These sailors and staff have a tremendous responsibility in creating war-fighting options for fleet commanders and advising decision-makers at all levels as they serve worldwide aboard ships, submarines and aircraft.
“Serving in the Navy means making a difference for my country having an impact on the world,” said Baray.
This story originally ran on Navy Outreach