Students assigned to the Center for Information Dominance (CID) Unit Monterey had the opportunity to see a Navy EP-3E Aries II up close and meet with a crew from Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 1, May 13.

The Whidbey Island-based aircrew visited the Monterey Jet Center and provided a static display and training opportunity for Navy students who attend the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC).

Cmdr. Andy Newsome, commanding officer of the information warfare (IW) community's training location at CID Unit Monterey, requested the visit to provide an operational context for the language training the Sailors receive at DLIFLC.

"Many of our newest Sailors are unsure of what it means to conduct information warfare in the fleet," said Newsome. "We feel strongly that by giving our Sailors a glimpse of what their shipmates are doing, we can help increase their motivation to excel in language learning."

More than 90 students and staff members gained valuable insight by visiting the static display and interacting with the aircrew.

"Our Sailors are here to learn a warfighting skill, which is a notion that can tend to get lost in a classroom environment," said Newsome. "We were thrilled that VQ-1 agreed to partner with us on the static display."

The EP-3E Aries II is a land-based multi-intelligence reconnaissance aircraft based on the P-3 Orion airframe. The aircraft provides fleet and theater commanders worldwide with near real-time tactical signals intelligence and full motion video intelligence.

"The experience was fun and informative," said Seaman Usha Mulvaney. "I learned a lot about aircrew. I learned about some of the safety gear used and the hours of hard work dedicated towards different duties on board."

With sensitive receivers and high-gain dish antennas, the EP-3E exploits a wide range of electronic emissions from deep within targeted territory. The crew fuses the collected intelligence with off-board data, which contributes to the Navy's IW mission.

"It was great to see the plane and have a visual representation of our job and what we do as aircrew," said Seaman Nicole Sheerer.

CID Unit Monterey provides a continuum of foreign language training to Navy personnel, which prepares them to conduct information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from the Center for Information Dominance and CID Unit Monterey, visit https://www.navy.mil and https://www.facebook.com/Center-for-Information-Dominance-Unit-Monterey-164082463687245/.