Tag Archive for: DVIDS

DVIDS – News – Army Cyber Command remembers heroes, victims of 9-11, Afghanistan

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FORT GORDON, Ga. — Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) personnel gathered together this week to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The solemn Sept. 10 ceremony at the command’s headquarters at Fortitude Hall here honored and remembered the victims and heroes of the attacks and America’s 20 years of war in Afghanistan.

The three attacks on 9/11 killed 2,995 people — the single loss of lives from a foreign attack on U.S. soil in the nation’s history – and injured 6,000 more. The two planes that struck the World Trade Center towers in New York claimed 2,763 lives; 189 people died when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon (125 in the building and 64 on board the flight); and 44 were killed when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pa.

In remarks at the ceremony ARCYBER Chief of Staff Col. Ernesto Cortez talked of the courage and commitment of Soldiers and veterans who dedicated themselves to serving others as a result of the attacks.

“Tomorrow represents a milestone for each of us to reflect on where we were that day…what we have done in the 20 years since then…and what we have learned that we can take forward to make the years ahead better, safer, and more fulfilling for us, our loved ones, and our country,” remarked Cortez as he recalled significant details and stories from that fateful day.

He told the story of Rick Rescorla, who was born in England and emigrated to America, where he joined the Army and was decorated for his courage in Vietnam. As head of security for a major investment firm in the World Trade Center on 9-11, Rescorla helped evacuate more than 2,000 of the company’s employees, then fatefully returned to help others. He was last seen alive singing and helping to keep up people’s spirits as he guided them towards safety.

The shared experience of 9-11 unified Americans who supported our Soldiers, Army civilians and families, Cortez said, and inspired many of today’s Soldiers to join the Army and serve valiantly.

The events of that fateful day and Americans’ response…

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DVIDS – News – Cyberspace Developer’s Course Critical to Retention and National Security

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FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. – Cyber Soldiers and a Marine graduated from the 11-month Tool Developer Qualification Course (TDQC) in a ceremony hosted by the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade (Cyber) at the Post Theater, July 13.

The United States Army has partnered with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) to train Soldiers and Marines to become Cyberspace Capability Developers.

The nation’s demand, makes the retention of cyberspace Soldiers more challenging; however, in addition to a unique mission set, programs like 170D, Cyber Capabilities Developer Technician (https://recruiting.army.mil/170d/) warrant officer recruitment; the 780th MI Brigade’s in house certification of Network +; Security +; Certified Ethical Hacker and CISSP; and education partnership programs like TDQC are essential if the U.S. Army and Marine Corps want to retain the “best and the brightest.”

Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, commander, U.S. Cyber Command and director, National Security Agency chief, Central Security Service, told the House Armed Forces Committee in March 2020, “I continue to pursue creative ways to leverage our nation’s best and brightest to want to contribute to our missions.”

According to the 780th MI Brigade S3 (operations) program managers, graduates of the TDQC course are proficient to an intermediate level in creating programs using the C and Python computer programming languages, and provides an education path for individuals to become experienced at 90 percent of the identified critical developer requirements that an individual must be able to articulate and demonstrate through practical application in order to be certified as a Cyberspace Capability Developer.

“Its purpose is to educate individuals who have little to no computer programming experience that have been identified through an assessment as having an aptitude and desire to become a computer programmer,” said Sgt. 1st Class Corbin Greeff, a brigade senior Non-Commissioned Officer.

The 2021 TDQC graduating class includes: Spc. William Colley; Spc. Arthur Gould; Staff Sgt….

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DVIDS – News – NSWC Dahlgren Cyber Warfare Engineering Lab Designed to Be NAVSEA Cybersecurity Crown Jewel

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DAHLGREN, Va. – More than a year after the cyber warfare engineering lab (CWEL) at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) broke ground, the center is gearing up to open its doors to several cybersecurity programs.

“I think of CWEL as the cyber center of excellence,” said Mike Strain, CWEL program manager and cyber assurance portfolio business manager. “It’ll be a one-stop shop for cyber requirements – from testing and understanding vulnerabilities to knowing how to negate those vulnerabilities.”

The 10,000-foot lab will act as a centralized location for cyber testing and location with increased security.

“CWEL will allow us the opportunity to streamline the process, so we can understand cyber capabilities and risks and create the mitigation necessary to minimize the risks,” said Strain. “Minimizing the risks ultimately helps the warfighter. It’s a long term vision to take all the parts and put them together to create a central point for the Navy.”

The NSWCDD facility will host both the USS Secure and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Red Team programs. USS Secure is a cybersecurity program that helps projects and programs meet mission requirements. The NAVSEA Red Team emulates adversarial tactics, techniques, and procedures to identify system and network weaknesses.

“Whenever you start bringing like capabilities together in a single location, you wind up with programs that can operate better,” said Strain. “This single location will allow synergy to rise to the top, so we can take advantage of other things that we may not have thought of before.”

“CWEL’s increased security will allow us to store event data for analysis,” said Jay Blalock, USS Secure program director. “Long term, that analysis can be used to identify mission vulnerabilities.”

According to Blalock, the lab will also include virtual test environments, which will add reliability to testing program and project architectures.

“Cyber will continue to grow more and more as we change the way we operate our systems,” said Strain. “The more we…

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DVIDS – News – Michigan National Guard goes All-In on All-Domain training

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LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan National Guard unveiled the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) at Camp Grayling in July and the Kelly Johnson Joint All-Domain Innovation Center (KJJADIC) at Selfridge Air National Guard Base (SANGB) in Sept., signaling a major shift in how it trains – and how it offers training for other entities across the Department of Defense –to prepare for the battlefield of the future. The new focus on All-Domain operations, which includes sea, land, air, space, and cyber, aligns the Michigan National Guard with the DoD’s modernization priorities, making them a key stakeholder in the future of All-Domain Operations.

The Michigan National Guard is increasing its capabilities in these areas for future missions and resources. “Within the National Guard, readiness levels determine the force structure and mission sets assigned to each state,” said Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, Adjutant General and Director of Michigan’s Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “Michigan’s unique geography, airspace, ranges, and growing connection to the defense industry make it an ideal environment for All-Domain training and operations, and we are developing those capabilities in order to undertake those missions.”

In 2019, there were more than 6,000 participants from 20 states and seven participating NATO countries at Northern Strike, the Michigan National Guard’s annual joint, reserve component readiness exercise held in Northern Michigan. Michigan’s unique geography is shaped by rolling hills, Great Lakes shorelines and large forests. With a climate and geography similar to central Europe, it offers four-season training opportunities that include littoral operations.

A 17,000-square-mile special use airspace, which extends over a portion of Lake Huron, blankets the NADWC, which is supported by three Michigan Air National Guard installations: the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, and SANGB, where the new KJADIC is located. These air bases provide air-to-air maneuver…

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