Cmdr. Andrew Newsome was relieved by Cmdr. Michael Salehi as commanding officer of Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Monterey during a change of command ceremony at the Defense Language Institute overlooking the beautiful Monterey Bay, May 3.

IWTC Monterey is responsible for developing fleet-ready Sailors who possess the basic foreign language skills necessary to support the nation's warfighting and intelligence operations.

Capt. Bill Lintz, commanding officer of the Center for Information Warfare Training, presided over the ceremony and praised Newsome on his tour.

"Since December 2015, 'Skipper' Newsome has skillfully led 1,400 Sailors through one of the Navy's most challenging accession schools," said Lintz. "He led change, cared for his crew, and left a lasting impact on not only Monterey, but the Navy as a whole. We are exceptionally proud of IWTC Monterey's achievements under Skipper Newsome's charge, and I'm confident Skipper Salehi will successfully continue the legacy of training and molding Sailors for the Navy the nation needs."

Some of Newsome's major achievements during his time at IWTC Monterey include a 14 percent increase in required language proficiency score attainment, a 99 percent physical fitness assessment pass rate over three cycles, and significant improvements in command climate. These achievements culminated with Newsome receiving a Meritorious Service Medal.

"Today my heart is so full, and my feelings of gratitude are overwhelming," said Newsome. "When we started together, we said that we wanted to serve as a 'Mission-Ready Navy Family.' You not only made that possible, you made it evident now more than ever."

To his students he stated, "You are the next generation of warriors; and you have inspired me. My hope is that I have in some way been able to inspire you as well."

Newsome's next assignment will be at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, as fleet cyber director of naval intelligence cryptology support.

Salehi hails from Fairfax, Virginia, and is a former Defense Language Institute student himself, having completed the Persian-Farsi basic course in 2005. His most recent assignment was Navy Information Operations Command Hawaii, where he served as the operations director and CTG 1070.1 commander of Fleet Information Operations Center.

"I could not be more pleased to be here today as the new CO of the best Information Warfare Training Command in the Navy," said Salehi. "To be able to lead the Navy's up and coming linguists is an awesome responsibility that I don't take lightly, and I pledge today to ensure we are graduating the absolute highest caliber of linguist Sailors and officers ready to assume demanding fleet and joint operational roles worldwide."

IWTC Monterey, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training, provides a continuum of foreign language training to Navy personnel, which prepares them to conduct information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations. IWTC has 560 members, more than 500 of which are linguists in training.

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

For more on Information Warfare Training Command Monterey, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt/IWTCmonterey/ and http://www.monterey.army.mil/Service_Units/IWTC_Monterey.html, or find them on Facebook.

For more news from Center for Information Warfare Training, visit www.navy.mil/, http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt/, http://www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or http://www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.