New commanding officer takes charge at IWTC Virginia Beach
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Cmdr. Kevin Pudas relieved Cmdr. Laura Smith as commanding officer of Information Warfare Training Command Virginia Beach during a change of command ceremony July 10 at Layton Hall’s Taylor Auditorium on Naval Station Oceana’s Dam Neck Annex.
Capt. John Copeland, Center for Information Warfare Training commander, presided over the ceremony and Shawn Moyer served as guest speaker.
Pudas assumes command following an operational tour aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), where he served as the ship’s intelligence officer and supported combat operations during a deployment to the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility.
“For so many of us in the information warfare community, this building is home, and today truly feels like a homecoming for me,” Pudas said. “I am immensely proud to be joining this team. We are entrusted with the ultimate responsibility to train, mentor and inspire the next generation of information warfare professionals. Together, we will continue to innovate and adapt at the speed of relevance to ensure our Navy remains ready to fight and win whenever our nation calls.”
A Navy Intelligence Officer Basic Course graduate at IWTC Virginia Beach nearly 17 years ago, Pudas described returning to the command as a full-circle moment and emphasized the school’s critical role in developing warfighters who provide information superiority and decision advantage to the fleet.
Smith, who held the leadership post since June 2024, expanded training capacity, modernized multiple accession courses, restored several professional-development opportunities and continued delivering mission-ready information warfare professionals to operational commands worldwide. Under her command, IWTC Virginia Beach processed more than 8,000 students and faculty each year while implementing curriculum updates across multiple learning sites.
In farewell remarks, she also highlighted other accomplishments, including the return of NIOBC visits to Washington, D.C., Communications Systems Warfare Officer Basic Course curriculum modernization, the return of “A” school graduation ceremonies and operational improvements at IWTC Virginia Beach Detachment Groton in Connecticut.
“What an awesome, humbling opportunity it has been to serve as your commanding officer and watch greatness walk through these halls every day,” Smith said. “To the exceptional staff, instructors, civilian personnel and contractors of IWTC Virginia Beach, thank you. Your dedication, professionalism and relentless drive ensure that we always train to win. Leading you has been the absolute privilege of my career.”
During the ceremony, Copeland praised Smith’s leadership while welcoming Pudas to the command, noting the importance of IWTC Virginia Beach’s mission to prepare the Navy’s information warfare force.
“She has been able to consistently demonstrate visionary leadership and great oversight of over 300 personnel here, as well as four other sites, which led to delivering 12,000 students across those locations,” said Copeland, who also led IWTC Virginia Beach from 2022 to 2024.
“Cmdr. Pudas comes from Truman with the great Truman team here to see him take on what I think is probably the greatest command in the United States Navy. ... Use your experience from 5th and 6th Fleet and pour (it) into your students to make them even more ready than you were.”
Smith’s next command is Naval Information Warfighting Development Center in Norfolk.
IWTC Virginia Beach, a CIWT subordinate command, trains about 6,000 students a year at Jacksonville and Mayport, Florida; Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia; and Groton, Connecticut. It delivers accession and advanced training to information warfare professionals, providing the fleet with technically proficient and operationally ready Sailors and officers capable of supporting naval operations around the globe.
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