"The demand signal from the leadership across the Navy has never been as strong as the demand we're getting for the skills that you are developing here, and have developed in previous operational tours," said Tighe. "In the last year and a half to two years, there have been more people talking about our collective contributions to the IW field and how they want more invested in it."

Tighe discussed the community's change in identity following the transition from the former Information Dominance field to the current Information Warfare field, and its role in helping the Navy become more digitally secure.

"What we are working on are several areas that are cross-cutting, one of course is cyber security. We will be asked to devise, develop, implement and govern cyber security solutions inside of all those platforms, and I'm not just talking about IT networks," said Tighe.

Tighe also spoke about automation, and how harnessing the analytical insights in data can provide tangible results in the fleet.

"You have probably seen, in any aspect of your work in the fleet, people doing manual things that made no sense. And, if only we could automate some of that you would have a lot more opportunities to make better decisions," she explained. "Applying analytics to what we do in a way that we can make better decisions in every single functional area across the Navy can benefit us all greatly."

Tighe is certainly well-versed in NPS, graduating with a doctorate in electrical engineering and a master's degree in applied mathematics in 2001. She returned to serve as the university's interim president just over a decade later.

"Please take full advantage of the time you have here, it is something that you will treasure forever," said Tighe. "It is an academic experience, but it is also an experience with your fellow officers, international officers and with the faculty, who you may reach out to once you get out there and ask for advice, and I think that's a great thing."