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Deployed Tinker Sailors awarded with EIDWS qualifications

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  • Strategic Communications Wing ONE
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Three Provincial Reconstruction Team Paktika Sailors were awarded their Enlisted Information Dominance Warfare Specialist qualifications during an April 1 pinning ceremony on FOB Sharana, Paktika Province, Afghanistan. Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Cannon, Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Parkinson and Petty Officer 3rd Class Noah Schrader, all part of Tinker's Take Charge and Move Out Community, completed the PQS requirements and passed a written test as well as an oral board in order to obtain the qualification. The Sailors began studying for their EIDWS qualification shortly after their arrival in theater last fall.

"Receiving the Information Dominance Warfare device meant a great deal to me, setting a goal and accomplishing a task such as this [warfare qualification] makes me that much more of a top competing Sailor," Petty Officer Parkinson said. "The information and knowledge that I obtained from studying these various subjects gives me a strong foundation of confidence not only in the United States' role in Middle Eastern countries but in all aspects of naval information and intelligence in the world."
Petty Officer Schrader agreed.

"Becoming an IDW specialist seemed like a long road for me," he said. "Everything that I had to study and learn was completely outside of my rate. I also felt that obtaining the warfare qualification while on such a demanding deployment has given me great confidence and has shown me that I can get quite a bit done with such limited time. All in all, I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to become an Information Dominance Warfare Specialist."

Cmdr. Clark Childers, commanding officer of PRT Paktika, congratulated each of his Sailors.

"Seeing all three enlisted Sailors assigned to PRT Paktika qualify for the Information Dominance Warfare Specialty was a true display of the hard work and dedication Navy Individual Augmentees exhibit on a daily basis," the commander said. "These Sailors are making astounding contributions to the success of Coalition and Afghan forces supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and then using their spare time for professional development. I am very proud of our Sailors and the consistent commitment they demonstrate to the mission, the PRT and to the Navy."