The ceremony, a time-honored custom of transferring complete duty, authority and accountability from one particular person to a different, marked the tip of a profitable tour for Ratkus.
Throughout his remarks, Garvin praised Ratkus for his quite a few accomplishments throughout his time in command, together with strengthening ties throughout the data warfare group; modernizing and enhancing coaching throughout all CIWT rankings, and throughout the cyber mission power; and upgrading labs with life like situations and hands-on coaching, extending using the Navy’s Multipurpose Reconfigurable Coaching System 3D® digital coach.
“Marc, all of that was made doable via your good management,” stated Garvin. “Elite groups want elite coaches and elite leaders. So, sure, you will have a improbable staff, but it surely was one which was brilliantly led.”
The change of command additionally marked the completion of Ratkus’ ascendant 39-year army profession — a profession he began as an enlisted Sailor at Corry Station attending Cryptologic Technician Upkeep “A” college in 1983, and concluded with two profitable years commanding CIWT as the best rating naval officer on Corry Station.
Parode spoke about Ratkus getting into the Navy throughout a time when the nation was confronted by an enemy of strategic proportions, who has now come round once more sporting a special set of garments.
“Marc joined the Navy to defend our nation,” stated Parode. “And he grew to become entranced by the necessity to try this for freaking ever, for 40 years. Usually, that is what occurs to us. We serve for so long as we are able to, as a result of when you enter the world of cryptology, now, data warfare, you’ve got change into uncovered to the depth of terror, the actual menace that faces the American folks and the lifestyle that we cherish. And when you’re uncovered to that, you completely do not wish to stroll away from it. It turns into a lifetime ardour to safe our nation.”
Parode went on to state that it’s our capability to maintain our energy and the power to train our energy on the excessive seas of the world that’s the surest guarantor of peace. Nonetheless, there isn’t any hope of the success of any devices of naval warfare with out success early on in data warfare.
“Data warfare is the muse for all naval warfare, and in case you imagine what I imagine, that naval warfare is the muse for nationwide energy, data warfare in the USA Navy is the muse for nationwide energy,” stated Parode.
It’s important, stated Parode, that we acknowledge that the management supplied by Ratkus, the commanding officers that got here earlier than him, and Bryant, now assuming command, haven’t simply helped assure the peace, but in addition assured success in fight once we had the necessity to struggle.
Throughout Ratkus’ remarks he stated he may hardly imagine that two years had handed, that serving because the commanding officer of CIWT had been the spotlight of his profession, and that he couldn’t consider a greater place to conclude his profession than in Pensacola the place he began his service.
To the CIWT employees, Ratkus stated, “I can’t thanks all sufficient for the outstanding work, initiatives, and coaching developments you made to organize data warriors to struggle and win on this new strategic surroundings. Our mission is inspiring, and I’m profoundly honored and humbled to have been part of it.”
Ratkus thanked Garvin and Parode, the quite a few associates, colleagues, and former shipmates within the viewers, and most of all his spouse, Brenda, who he offered with the army partner medal, and their household.
Ratkus, a local of Excessive Level, North Carolina, was promoted via the rank of chief earlier than he was commissioned a chief warrant officer. Ratkus was chosen for the restricted responsibility officer program and promoted to lieutenant junior grade, laterally transferred to the cryptologic warfare group and continued his service, lastly advancing to the rank of captain. His operational assignments included service aboard 5 ships, in addition to a shore deployment to Afghanistan. His shore assignments took him from Europe, throughout the U.S. and out to Hawaii.
Ratkus intends to proceed in Pensacola after retiring, having served right here a number of instances throughout his profession, and his spouse, Brenda, and her household are from the higher Pensacola space.
Throughout his speech, Bryant additionally thanked Garvin, Parode who he too had the pleasure of assembly early on in his data warfare profession, and his household and associates for attending. Byrant extoled the significance of data warfare coaching within the present world surroundings, and guaranteed Ratkus that CIWT would preserve its excessive requirements and proceed to satisfy any challenges.
Bryant is native to the world, hailing from Tempo, Florida. He acquired his fee via Officer Candidate College, earned his naval flight officer wings, and was designated a polar transport navigator, finishing two deployments to Antarctica, and quite a few different worldwide websites. Bryant graduated from the Protection Language Institute Washington as a Dutch (Nederland) language scholar, and took part within the Personnel Change Program in Valkenburg, the Netherlands, earlier than shifting into the data warfare group and serving in operational and shore responsibility capacities.
Bryant served because the commanding officer of Heart for Data Dominance Unit Corry Station (now designated Data Warfare Coaching Command Corry Station) from 2013 to 2015. He most not too long ago served with U.S. Fleet Cyber Command because the assistant chief of employees for plans and coverage, earlier than reporting to CIWT to imagine command.
With 4 schoolhouse instructions, two detachments, and coaching websites all through the USA and Japan, CIWT trains over 26,000 college students yearly, delivering educated data warfare professionals to the Navy and joint providers. Heart for Data Warfare Coaching additionally gives greater than 200 programs for cryptologic technicians, intelligence specialists, data techniques technicians, electronics technicians, and officers within the data warfare group.
