Tag Archive for: DVIDS

DVIDS – News – Semper supra: Guardian instructor steps above the rest

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Sgt. Anastacia Lange, 333rd Training Squadron Cyber Warfare Operator (CWO) course instructor, is breaking barriers as the first Guardian and the first female instructor in the course’s history.

The 333rd TRS at Keesler provides officer communications and cyber warfare initial skills training, enlisted cyber warfare initial skills training, as well as initial and advanced training on spectrum operations. The squadron is also responsible for the development, revision and instruction of network courses supporting global command and control operations.

The CWO course teaches students to develop, sustain and enhance cyber warfare capabilities in order attack adversary interests while at the same time defending U.S. national interests from attack. Airmen and Guardians alike must be able to flex and change as rapidly as the cyber field changes.

Shortly after the Space Force was officially founded in 2019, members of the newest branch began to attend cyber warfare courses within the 333rd TRS. The squadron identified a need to give new Guardians representation in the course, as well as have someone who could unite new Space Force operational needs with current technical training structures.

One individual stood out amongst her peers.

“I asked the Instructor Supervisors if we had any rockstar Guardians and they unanimously suggested Sgt. Lange,” said Master Sgt. Kyle Griffin, former 333rd TRS flight chief. “She could already tie concepts in CWO back to Guardian objectives and was intelligent, motivated and well-spoken. I asked her if she had an interest in being an instructor someday, and she said yes.”

Joining the 333rd TRS instructor cadre isn’t the first time Lange has embraced uncharted territory. While she originally enlisted in the Air Force, she knew she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be a part of the newest branch.

“How often do we get to see a whole new force structure being established?”, said Lange. “It got me thinking that there is no other opportunity to make a difference and establish the kind of force that I want to see than by…

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DVIDS – News – CTN Changes Rate Name to CWT

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The Navy has a long history of changing job titles to reflect the changing nature of warfare and the evolving roles of its personnel. The change from Cryptologic Technician Networking (CTN) to Cyber Warfare Technician (CWT) is the latest example of this trend. Cyber Warfare is constantly altering and the Navy ensured the Cyber Warfare Technician job title accurately reflects the knowledge and skills of personnel who were previously known as Cryptologic Technician Networking.

“When you think of Cryptologic Technician Networks, it sounds like we’re another version of Information Systems Technicians so people come to us to fix passwords and printers. But when you think about Cyber Warfare Technician, to me that says we’re doing an entire different part of cyber and it better explains what we’re doing with our job”, said Chief Cyber Warfare Technician Thomas Mayo, Defensive Cyber space Operations Team Lead assigned to Amphibious Squadron 8.

The result of the rate name change has given military and non-military personnel a clear understanding of the work they participate in. The name CTN is not very instinctive for people who are not familiar with military terminology. The name CWT is more straightforward and easy to understand. A current and up-to-date job title can help with recruitment, attracting the right type of people.

“Our insignia is going to change the culture around our name. What we do is going to change because we no longer fall under the Cryptologic Technician category but our own category now of cyber warfare”, said Mayo. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see cyber become its own thing versus being under the information warfare.”

The Navy changed the name of the CTN rating to CWT because the job has changed. CTNs would be responsible for operating and maintaining computer networks. But now, they also do things like protect networks from cyberattacks, develop new cyberwarfare tools, and conduct offensive cyber operations.

“We’re trained specifically to monitor for advanced persistent threats and to be able to inform the…

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DVIDS – News – Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group Host Commemoration For Rosemary S. Wenchel

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Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group (NCWDG) hosted a commemoration ceremony for Rosemary S. Wenchel on December 20 at Fort Meade, Md.

During the ceremony Capt. Michael Herlands, commanding officer of NCWDG, presented a portrait of Wenchel to her family that will hang in the lobby of the NCWDG Cyber Foundry, a research and development command for some of the U.S. Navy’s cyber-warfare capabilities.

Friends and family of Wenchel talked about the impact she had on their lives and how she brought out the best in everyone around her.

“Rosemary was an unsung pioneer of naval cryptology and a trailblazer for the cyber discipline within the U.S. National Security establishment,” said Herlands. “She was a prominent member of our NCWDG family for decades and a true inspiration for many of us who continue carrying on her legacy.”

Wenchel’s service to the Navy cyber community began in 1989 as a computer systems programmer at the Naval Security Group. She would spend the rest of her career ensuring the Navy was the dominant force in the cyberspace and information environment.

Between 1995 and 2005 she worked at Naval Information Warfare Activity, finishing her time there as the chief scientist. She would go on to direct cyber capabilities at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

She joined DHS in 2012 and became the assistant secretary for the Office of Cyber, Infrastructure and Resilience Policy to ensure the U.S. cyber workforce had the tools needed to succeed.

In 2016, she returned to NCWDG as the chief technology officer, providing technical leadership and strategic guidance for the research, development and operational delivery of cyber warfare capabilities. She passed away May 11, 2019.

George Wenchel, husband of Rosemary, expressed how his wife’s deep dedication to the Navy and her strong commitment to her cryptologic and cyber colleagues throughout her career, left the world a better place.

NCWDG serves as the Navy’s Center for Cyber Warfare innovation. For over 30 years, NCWDG has conducted technical research and development to…

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DVIDS – News – Maryland Air Guard exercise skills to be ready for warfare

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The Maryland Air National Guard conducted a readiness exercise involving Airmen in a simulated deployed environment across Martin State Air National Guard Base from March 2-5.

The exercise, designated Operation Lucky Strike 2023, was built to test and demonstrate the 175th Wing’s ability to survive and operate in a near-peer conflict while executing unit-level critical tasks. All training activities were observed and monitored by unit subject matter experts and the inspector general’s office, which provided feedback to leaders and participants.

“Operation Lucky Strike is a full-scale readiness exercise designed to test our Airmen’s ability to ensure mission essential tasks are met in a contested, degraded, operationally limited environment including CBRN, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear environments,” said Maryland Air National Guard Capt. Sara Nittinger, 175th Wing director of inspections. “Everything is driven by the new Air Force generation concept, AFFORGEN. It is how we prepare our Airmen for deployments, where they have to be able to demonstrate that they can accomplish their core mission essential tasks in a variety of threat levels.”

During the exercise, wing Airmen had to operate during simulated cyberattacks, power outages, hazardous material accidents, force protection events, and severe weather. The exercise also took place at multiple locations, including Aberdeen Proving Ground and Ft. Meade, testing the wing’s ability to demonstrate agile combat employment, known as ACE.

“In the future, we could be operating in a hostile combat environment that is contested or degraded against an adversary that has peer capabilities – in other words, as capable as us and in some cases maybe more capable,” said Maryland Air National Guard Col. Richard Hunt, 175th Wing vice commander. “They are going to threaten us as much as we threaten them. In order for us to survive, operate, and be effective in a high-risk combat scenario, we need to have the ability to forward deploy to conduct combat operations for a very limited…

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