Rear Adm. Gene Price, commander, Naval Information Force Reserve and reserve deputy, Naval Information Forces, visited Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Virginia Beach, May 21.

Price spoke with students in the Reserve Naval Intelligence Officer Basic Course (RNIOBC). He discussed reservist training, mobilization, operational requirements and provided direct answers to students' questions.

"This place (IWTC Virginia Beach) produces excellence," stated Price. "This course is like a laboratory for developing good leaders; take notes and pay attention."

The RNIOBC students' questions ranged from the process of being commissioned to attending RNIOBC, working on the information warfare officer qualification, sea tours versus individual augmentation billets, Reserve career path, and expectations inside the community.

"The beauty about being a Reserve intelligence officer is the diverse career opportunities," added Price. "Don't compare active-duty junior officers' careers to Reserve career paths. They are not the same. Get qualified, and if you find yourself deployed to somewhere like naval special warfare, go into it with your eyes wide open. Be reflective of where you want to go in your life; use your best judgment and don't make decisions in a vacuum."

Price also shared his guidance to the students with three rules, "1. Command early; 2. Command often; and 3. Fastest way to command is to yield a good fitness report. Leadership and teamwork, are the two parts of the fitness report that are important-thrive to be great at both."

In closing, Price stated, "Let me finish by saying you all have to help me help the officers coming after you. You all have agreed to do something that is going to change your life. It's going to be tough; it's really hard to keep up with. Remember, we are mission first, people always. I hope you stay in as long as you can, no one is going to appreciate the demands of a Reserve intelligence officer."

"It was a pleasure to host Rear Admiral Price at our command to speak with the RNIOBC class," said Lt. Cmdr. Eric Dobson, IWTC Virginia Beach's executive officer. "Allowing time in the course for these types of communications guarantees that these future leaders will be prepared with the right information as we shape the next generation of Reserve intelligence officers.

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. It is one of four school houses for Center for Information Warfare Training and also oversees learning sites at Jacksonville and Mayport, Florida; Kings Bay, Georgia; and Groton, Connecticut to continue aligning IW community training.

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