The U.S. Naval Academy will receive $120 million in federal funds for a new center for teaching midshipmen cyber warfare skills.
A news release by Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski on Thursday confirmed that the Naval Academy’s funding request will be fulfilled as a result of the budget President Obama passed this week.
“Through hands-on learning in a real-world environment, we are preparing our midshipmen to be future cyber warriors that will protect our country from cyber terrorists, spies and thugs,” the Democratic senator said, Navy Times reported Thursday.
Students at the new center will have access to classified documents, making it the first such facility of its kind for the academy, the newspaper reported.
“Right now, without the classified classroom space, the midshipmen do not get any instruction at the Naval Academy in the classified aspects of cyber and related domains,” Capt. Paul Tortora, director of the academy’s cyber department, told Navy Times in June.
Construction for the new center is set to begin in 2016.
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• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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