JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The 611th Air Communications Squadron’s six-member Mission Defense Team was recently recognized as the 2020 Department of Defense Chief Information Officer’s Digital Modernization Team of the Year award for their role in supporting the cyber defense mission within the Alaskan Joint Operations Area.
The team provides front line defense to cyber threats by delivering real-time defensive cyber operations, assuring the integrity of the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command’s command and control networks, which include the 611th Air Operations Center and the 15 Long Range Radar Sites of the Alaskan Radar System for the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center. Their monitoring of critical NORAD mission systems ensures protection across the region.
Members of the team agree providing active monitoring is of key importance in protecting the system.
“The MDT provides real-time detection of potential malicious activities for these systems,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jaret Waggoner, the 611th ACOMS MDT section chief and the Eleventh Air Force’s 2019 Outstanding Cyber Operations Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. “This allows us to shorten the gap between initial detection and threat remediation. Catching these events early reduces the likelihood they will spread across the network.”
By employing innovative cyber defense capabilities and persistently driving towards integration between the air and cyberspace domains, the team has expanded confidence in security of bi-national NORAD command and control networks for the U.S. and its Canadian partners.
“Over the past year, the MDT has significantly upgraded its cyber weapon system components and enhanced the operational skills of its personnel,” said 1st Lt. Joseph Wilburn, 611th ACOMS MDT officer in charge. “We used multiple avenues to minimize costs and resources, while maintaining a constant operations presence in support of its mission customers.”
Part of the upgrade consisted in acquiring and installing the CY-39 Interceptor Cyber Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter weapon system, marking the unit as the first in NORAD to operate on a bi-national command and control network as well as the first active duty MDT to defend a long range radar system.
To expand their cyber defense capability, the team created a custom CY-39 deployable toolkit to respond to events at remote Alaskan radar sites.
“The MDT developed a rapid cyber response capability by customizing the CY-39 weapon system into a condensed, deployable toolkit which can be transported to Alaska’s 15 remote radar sites in less than 24 hours,” Waggoner said. “This capability was demonstrated during this year’s Exercise ARCTIC EDGE 2020.”
The team supported multi-domain fusion during the exercise, demonstrating NORAD’s first instance of air and cyber domains operating simultaneously at the tactical level, securing data to generate a 663,000 square mile Alaskan air picture.
The MDT also played a role in real-world missions, providing mission assurance and validating the integrity of radar traffic, assisting in the intercept of Russian aircraft with no degradation to the $300 million Alaskan Radar System.
In recognition of their accomplishments in the past year, the team won the 2020 DOD CIO’s Digital Modernization Team of the Year Award.
“The mission defense team concept is in its infancy in the Air Force and is still under development by major command leads and Headquarters Air Force,” Waggoner said. “As we continue to grow our capabilities as a larger community, we get to collectively shape our future. Winning this award at the DoD-level is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication to mission success. Furthermore, it shows how far we’ve come in such a short timeframe to advance our cyber defense posture in an effort to protect our critical mission systems.”
Other members of the team said they were proud of winning the award at such a high level.
“Our team was put up for the award because of the accomplishment and milestones we have achieved despite the mission defense team being a new concept across the Air Force,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman David Hernandez, 611 ACOMS mission defense operator and PRSC’s 2019 Cyber Systems Airman of the Year. “Being the youngest and newest member of the team, I am humbled by the experience and knowledge that my team has brought to the table.”
Overall, the 611th ACOMS MDT’s leadership is proud of their accomplishment and continues to posture themselves for the future, providing cyber excellence across the Last Frontier.
"It is an absolute privilege to lead this team of motivated operators,” Wilburn said. “I am extremely proud of their ability to constantly overcome any obstacle and their unwavering dedication to our mission. There is no doubt that this team will play a pivotal role in how the Air Force defines and implements cyberspace defense in the upcoming years."
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