The Information Warfare belt buckle is authorized as an optional wear item for Officers and enlisted personnel who have earned the Information Warfare qualification. Officer and Chief Petty Officer buckles are gold while Petty Officers and junior enlisted wear silver buckles, and the insignia is also different for the two buckles. The enlisted insignia is a globe mounted on a fouled anchor which is superimposed over a crossed enlisted Naval cutlass and a lightning bolt set over a background of ocean waves; the Officer/CPO insignia is identical except an Officer’s sword is used in place of the enlisted cutlass.
The Navy established the Information Dominance Corps in 2009 and placed it under the Information Dominance Forces Command. In January 2016, the Chief of Naval Operations announced that the IDC was being redesignated the Information Warfare Community, emphasizing the Navy’s understanding of information in warfare and information as warfare. As a result, the EIDWS qualification was redesignated the Enlisted Information Warfare Specialist, or EIWS. Although the EIWS qualification program is open to all Sailors, it is mandatory for Sailors serving in one of four ratings: Information Systems Technician, Cryptologic Technician, Intelligence Specialist, and Aerographer’s Mate.