Naval Information Warfare Training Group Gulfport (IWTG Gulfport) leadership has announced the command's transition from Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Professional Development Center (NMOPDC) to IWTG Gulfport.

NMOPDC was an echelon IV command under the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC). IWTG Gulfport is an echelon V command subordinate to IWTG Norfolk under Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR).

“This realignment of IW training commands improves our capability and streamlines the development and adaptation of critical training in an ever developing age. Our Sailors receive both tailored education and targeted skills training, providing them the tools they need to ensure the highest levels of decision superiority to the warfighter, thereby creating a more lethal force,” said Lt. Cmdr. Matt Cushanick, IWTG Gulfport executive officer.

Although the announcement came Aug. 14, the transition took place June 11, 2018. IWTG Gulfport held a change of command July 13. 

With a change of command planned for a month later, IWTG Gulfport opted to forego a ceremony to mark the occasion.  Instead, the transition was kept simple with signage updated at the command and throughout Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, where the command is located.  Despite the lack of ceremony, the change was in fact dramatic for the Navy’s burgeoning Information Warfare Community (IWC).

At the change of command ceremony, Cmdr. Christi Montgomery, the outgoing commanding officer, called the move seamless “due to IWTG Gulfport’s team of Sailors and civilians that manages to consistently punch above its weight, and deliver Fleet readiness when and where needed.”

Capt. Chris Slattery, the commanding officer of IWTG Norfolk said, “the inclusion of the small but mighty NMOPDC has been a significant upgrade to IWTG capability. IWTG Gulfport, although only few months old, is already making a difference in Fleet readiness.”

NMOPDC was initially established by NMOC in 2000 to quickly respond to the training needs of Naval Oceanography, beyond initial skills and accession training.  Today, IWTG Gulfport upholds a similar mission – advance Information Warfighting through tailored education and operational training of Naval and Joint Forces, delivering decisive advantage across the full range of military operations.

IWTG commands provide the Fleet with the highest quality training in the fields of Cyber, Electronic Warfare, Cryptology, Intelligence, and Meteorology and Oceanography to support the Optimized Fleet Response Plan and forward-deployed Naval forces in Japan.  To this end, IWTG Gulfport maintains detachments in Norfolk, San Diego, and Yokosuka; providing functional type training to the Fleet that is ready, relevant, responsive, and unbound by geographical restraints.

Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter.

For more news from Naval Information Forces, visit www.navy.mil/.