NAVAL INFORMATION FORCES, SAN DIEGO — Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) West provided a tour of Naval Base San Diego to local students and their parents July 22.
The families belong to the Marlow B. Martinez Foundation, a local non-profit organization supporting disadvantaged children, per the organization’s founder Marlow B. Martinez.
“In today’s world, it’s important we show our youth the military and law enforcement are the ‘good guys’ and there are options for success for these children; that is my hope for today’s visit,” said Martinez.
Visitors had an opportunity to view some of the ships in port including destroyers, littoral combat ships, cruisers and amphibious assault ships. Lt. Cmdr. Henry Martinez, an officer in NAVIFOR West’s Cyber Security Training group, identified the overarching purpose of these vessels, which is to protect and defend America on the world’s oceans.
He also highlighted what life is like on these ships and in the Navy as a whole, describing different jobs available to Sailors, especially those related to information warfare:
- Aerographer’s Mate: Serves as the Navy’s weather forecaster.
- Cryptologic Technician: Perform a collection, analysis and reporting on communication signals
- Information Specialist: Those in the IS rating analyze intelligence data.
- Information Systems Technician’s: Those in the IT rating perform core and specialty functions of communications operations, message processing and network administration and security.
Lt. Cmdr. Martinez also shared his personal story with the students, particularly how and why he joined the Navy and the opportunities he’s had in his life because of his career choice.
“I grew-up in El Paso, Texas and lived in government housing; I recognized from a young age that joining the military would allow me to see the world and help me build a career, not just find a job,” said Lt. Cmdr. Martinez. “I enlisted as a Radioman and was responsible for engineering tactical communications in support of the warfighter. After achieving the rate of first-class petty officer, I was selected as a limited duty officer and commissioned. Now, with 30 years of service, I appreciate the opportunity to share my passion for the Navy and mentor future Sailors, showing them that hard work, dedication and perseverance lead to success.”
For more information on NAVIFOR, visit the command's web site at www.navifor.navy.mil, our Navy News Web page at www.navy.mil/local/navidfor/ or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USNavyInformationDominanceForces/.