During his visit, Ratkus met with IWTC SD staff, visited various training courses, spoke with chief petty officer selectees, and received scenario briefings on the Intelligence Team Trainer, which supports training for deploying Carrier Strike Group and Amphibious Readiness Group personnel through their pre-deployment cycle.

“The wide spectrum of training operations at IWTC SD adds tremendous value not only to the information warfare community, but also to our nation,” said Ratkus. “It requires hard work and diligence to effectively prepare our warfighters to become a part of the Navy our nation needs. The IWTC SD team does a remarkable job continuously delivering highly trained Information Warfare professionals to the fleet.”

While touring IWTC SD classrooms, Ratkus had an opportunity to talk with and address students and staff in electronic warfare, intelligence, and course supervisor classes. While speaking with course supervisor students, Ratkus surprised Chief Petty Officer Dinorath Lopez with the announcement of her selection to receive the Vice Adm. Rufus L. Taylor Award for Excellence in Intelligence Instruction.

"It was a pleasure to host Captain Ratkus, show him some of our command’s initiatives, introduce him to some of our remarkable instructors and staff, and exchange ideas about how to best enable America’s maritime fighting forces to sustain a competitive advantage in the Information Warfare battlespace," said Cmdr. Tim Raymie, commanding officer, IWTC SD. "His storied and diverse career experience give him the breadth of knowledge and perspective needed to help shape our training to better support the Information Warfare Community. It is truly an honor to work with him."

IWTC San Diego, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training, provides a continuum of training to Navy and joint service personnel that prepares them to conduct information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.