WTI Re-Blue 2026 Concludes

by Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC)

16 January 2026
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES

Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center concludes 2026 WTI Re-Blue event

The Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC) successfully concluded the 2026 WTI Re-Blue event Friday, marking the end of a weeklong series of advanced surface warfighting discussions and training.

The event, held Jan. 12–16 at the Washington Navy Yard and the Pentagon, brought together 207 Surface Warfare Tactics Instructors (WTIs) from across the Department of the Navy, along with representatives from 87 commands and industry partners.

The WTI Re-Blue event serves as a forum for professional development, fleet feedback and cross-community collaboration, ensuring WTIs are trained to the highest standards of tactical mastery. The event emphasized translating lessons learned from fleet operations into updated tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) and advancing all-domain readiness for the Surface Force.

Leaders from the Joint Staff, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) and the Secretariat participated throughout the week, engaging with WTIs to discuss fleet requirements, emerging threats and the alignment of tactical development with strategic objectives. "WTI Re-Blue is where we invest in the development of our people, ensuring each WTI has the knowledge, judgment and tactical skill to lead and succeed across the Surface Force," said Rear Adm. T.J. Zerr, commander, SMWDC. "The professional development that occurs here equips our warfighters to apply lessons learned from the fleet, strengthen operational decision-making and maintain the intellectual capital that underpins our combat advantage."

Over the course of the event, WTIs participated in sessions covering fleet operations and tactical development. This included WTI Management Cell briefings to optimize manning and billet assignments, and PERS-41 discussions addressing career management. Participants also reviewed the IWS-5 acquisition pipeline for undersea warfare and Aegis capabilities, explored Maven automated data exploitation for faster decision cycles, and received updates on cyber and information efforts. WTIs further engaged in the SURFRG WTI Gaps Workshop to identify readiness shortfalls and the SWCTC workshop to ensure a standardized progression in tactical competency.

"Events like WTI Re-Blue directly contribute to generating lethality across the fleet," said Rear Adm. Joseph Cahill, commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic. "In the 10 years since SMWDC was founded, we have seen a dramatic increase in the tactical proficiency of the Surface Force. By integrating WTIs from multiple specialty areas and aligning TTPs with real-world fleet experience, we are strengthening our ability to operate decisively in all domains."

SMWDC is the Navy’s warfighting development center for surface warfare and mine warfare. It is responsible for increasing the lethality and tactical proficiency of the surface fleet through the development and assessment of warfighting doctrine, concepts and TTPs.