The Reserve Officer Information Warfare Communities (IWC) are comprised of individuals with various backgrounds. The six reserve communities include Intelligence, Cryptologic Warfare, Information Professional, Meteorology and Oceanography, Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer (MCWO), and Space Cadre. Information Warfare Officers perform numerous missions to include offensive and defensive cyber operations, analyzing environmental conditions, identifying and targeting advisory assets, and satellite operations. These Information Warfare (IW) reservists are managed through Commander, Naval Information Force Reserve (COMNAVIFORES) headquartered in Fort Worth, TX. Additionally, there are six NAVIFORES (NIFR) Regions and nine Joint Reserve Intelligence Centers which support the reserve IW Communities.
Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer (1885)
The January 2024 Reserve Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer (1885) Redesignation Panel selection results have been posted to CNIFR SharePoint under the OCM Page. Link to CNIFR SharePoint (requires CAC): https://private.navyreserve.navy.mil/cnifr/Pages/default.aspx
Please note that future opportunities for redesignation will be available on a case-by-case basis according to community need via the standard redesignation process. Officers wishing to apply for redesignation are encouraged to contact the IW OCMs.
Point of Contact:
Reserve IW Officer Community Managers
Ms. Patty Pifer / LT Charles Youngblood
BUPERS-351
(901) 874-2976 / 4309
Click on the specific link below to find out more information regarding the individual Reserve Information Warfare Communities.
Reserve Oceanography - 1805
Reserve Cryptologic Warfare - 1815
Reserve Information Professional - 1825
Reserve Intelligence - 1835
Reserve Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer - 1885
Reserve Space Cadre Detailing (Active)
Reserve Space Cadre (Reserve - requires CAC)
Change of Designator to an Information Warfare Community (Intelligence/1835, Cryptologic Warfare/1815, Information Professional/1825, Oceanography/1805, or Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer/1885):
The IWC is seeking redesignation candidates with degrees and professional experience related to Intelligence, SIGNIT, Electronic Warfare, Meteorology and Oceanography, Cyber Security/Operations, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Forensics, Information Systems Management, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML).
Officers desiring a change of designator to 18X5 must submit a redesignation package per BUPERSINST 1001.39F, utilizing the appropriate template on the right side of this webpage. Candidates must meet the minimum eligibility requirements outlined in MILPERSMAN 1212-010 and 1212-030. If approved for redesignation, candidates will be required to be assigned to an IWC unit. Packages are screened for the following purposes: Verify basic eligibility; SSBI/pre-screening eligibility; substantive assessment of the candidate's potential for success and general competitiveness for promotion; and ensure each candidate meets minimum physical fitness standards, has not failed to select in their current grade, and is not likely to fail to select before the completion of change of designator (2xFOS will not be approved).
TS/SCI eligibility - All candidates require TS/SCI verification, or a SSBI/pre-screen eligibility interview conducted as part of a Naval Information Force Reserve Readiness Center (NIFR REDCEN) XO interview (Active/SELRES/IRR/S2).
SELRES and VTU Redesignation: Redesignation requests are submitted to NAVPERSCOM (PERS-911C) via a candidate’s Unit CO and prospective NIFR REDCEN. Current IW officers must also submit via CNIFR.
Individual Ready Reserve (IRR)/Inactive Standby List (S2) Redesignation and SELRES affiliation: Current IRR/S2 officers are required to complete all medical requirements and 95% of SELRES affiliation paperwork prior to submitting a redesignation request to PERS-911C. Requests received too early in the affiliation process will be returned as the redesignation date commences the training timeline for all IW designators. Requests must be routed via the appropriate NIFR REDCEN.
Active Component Redesignation and SELRES affiliation: Redesignation requests for officers desiring SELRES affiliation must be forwarded to PERS-911C via a Reserve Processing and Affiliation Center (RPAC) Transition Assistant or a Navy Reserve Recruiter.
Once received, PERS-911C will forward the candidate’s package to the Reserve Officer Community Managers (OCMs); the Reserve OCMs will adjudicate the package from a Reserve Community perspective, provide a recommendation, and return to PERS-911C for final processing. RC redesignation is continuous year round and generally does not culminate in a formalized board action. Once the candidate completes the steps above with the appropriate endorsements, the package can be forwarded to PERS-911C for a decision. Packages received without the required endorsements will not be considered for redesignation.