210318-N-N2432-1001Cmdr. Emily Royse, an Amphibious Warfare (AMW) Warfare Tactics Instructor (WTI), became the first female WTI to assume command. Royse was the executive officer and she fleeted-up to command aboard the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47), after being relieved by Lt. Cmdr. Tammi Ballinger – also an AMW WTI. SMWDC accepts applications from top-talented junior Surface Warfare Officers to become expert warfare tacticians in one of four warfare areas – AMW, Integrated Air and Missile Defense, Mine Warfare, or Anti-Submarine Warfare / Surface Warfare. (U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Heather Brown / released).