Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Virginia Beach equipped its master training specialist (MTS) qualified members to improve the effectiveness of courses across the information warfare community through standardized training for personnel achieving the MTS qualification.

Once a Sailor qualifies as a MTS, they also become a MTS mentor and take on the responsibility of guiding MTS candidates through the qualification process, serving as an interdepartmental evaluator, and participating as a voting member on MTS boards. MTS mentors sustain IWTC Virginia Beach's instructional knowledge, expertise and help maintain the overall health of the program.

Under the new initiative, MTS mentors are aligned to specific IWTC courses, assisting with course development and maintenance with an overall goal of continuous improvement of delivery and instruction. Course supervisors work with their MTS mentor teams to develop project milestones and action items to keep progress on track.

Additionally, MTS mentors assist with instructor sustainment training and course supervisor lessons ensuring instructors have the most current tools available to deliver world-class training and maintain courses in a dynamic environment. Instructors learn a multitude of lessons to include: standardization of course documents; instructor development plans; and internal course reviews, maximizing IWTC's ability to cross-utilize instructors.

"The master training specialist designation provides recognition for outstanding individual effort and fosters greater command training professionalism," said Cmdr. Andrew Boyden, commanding officer for IWTC Virginia Beach. "MTS-qualified instructors not only demonstrate highly effective teaching skills and a comprehensive understanding of curriculum management, but also take a leadership role in mentoring, instructing, and evaluating instructors and curriculum."

MTS mentors constantly foster a learning mindset throughout the command. Most importantly, the instructors can rely on each other for help regardless of which course they instruct. The mentorship program goes beyond the qualification process and gets to the heart of community training, inspiring collaboration and innovation while energizing the MTS program.

IWTC Virginia Beach currently offers 65 courses of instruction in information technology, cryptology, and intelligence with an instructor and support staff of 280 military, civilian, and contract members who train over 6,400 students every year at five training sites in the Hampton Roads area. One of four school houses for Center for Information Warfare Training, it also oversees learning sites at Jacksonville and Mayport, Florida; Kings Bay, Georgia; and Groton, Connecticut to continue aligning IW community training.

IWTC Virginia Beach, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training, provides a continuum of training to Navy and joint service personnel, preparing them to conduct Information Warfare (IW) across the full spectrum of military operations.

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