Naval Information Forces Commander Vice Adm. Brian Brown and Force Master Chief David Carter visited multiple Information Warfare commands on the island of Oahu in early November, including the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Naval Information Operations Center Hawaii, and Naval Computer and Telecommunications Center Area Master Station Pacific.

Vice Adm. Brown and Force Master Chief Carter toured JTWC and spoke to all hands about the importance, benefits and challenges of integrating the different information warfare communities—cryptologic warfare, information professionals, intelligence, space cadre, and meteorology and oceanography (METOC)- in order to leverage all available information and the electromagnetic spectrum to enable the Fleet to make better decisions and operate to its full capability.

“It’s important for our Sailors to understand the contributions of each part of the Information Warfare community and see how their work matters to other parts of the Fleet,” said Cmdr. R. Corey Cherrett, commanding officer of JTWC. “Vice Adm. Brown visiting helped my Sailors see the bigger picture.”

Vice Adm. Brown pinned personnel who had earned Enlisted Information Warfare Specialist and Information Warfare Officer qualifications. He also awarded coins to several Sailors for recent exceptional performance, including JTWC’s response to Hurricane Lane, in which Sailors slept at the command when Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness One was set in order to continue providing 24/7 tropical cyclone forecasting and tsunami response support, and one Sailor went underway with Destroyer Squadron 31 to provide in-person forecast support and ensure safety of navigation for the ships that sortied from Pearl Harbor in advance of the hurricane.

Vice Adm. Brown is a METOC officer who has commanded several major METOC commands, including the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and the Naval Oceanographic Office. He holds masters’ of science degrees in oceanography from the University of California, San Diego, and in meteorology and physical oceanography from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

JTWC (Task Element 80.7.7.1) is jointly staffed by U.S. Navy and Air Force personnel and falls under the operational control of Commander, Task Group 80.7/Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command via Fleet Weather Center San Diego (Task Unit 80.7.7). U.S. Air Force personnel are administratively assigned to the 17th Operational Weather Squadron, a subordinate squadron of the 1st Weather Group and the 557th Weather Wing.

JTWC provides tropical cyclone reconnaissance, forecast, warning and decision support services for operational advantage to U.S. government agencies operating in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Navy personnel at JTWC also provide tsunami advisory information and recommendations to shore installations and units, as well as impact forecasts for U.S. Pacific Fleet’s airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and decision support services to U.S. Pacific Command and its subordinate commands.

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