North Dakota Guard to receive cyber mission

BISMARCK, ND, UNITED STATES

12.11.2015

Courtesy Story

North Dakota National Guard Public Affairs

BISMARCK, N.D. - The North Dakota Army National Guard in 2018 will activate several information technology personnel positions to bolster the Department of Defense's cyberspace forces and defend critical military and civilian government computer network infrastructure. In a memo sent Wednesday, the National Guard Bureau announced that North Dakota will be one of several states to complement a regional Army National Guard Cyber Protection Team (CPT).

"Our goal for cyber-defense is to train, equip and provide highly skilled forces responsive to the needs of the nation," said Army Gen. Frank Grass, chief of the National Guard Bureau, in a news story published Wednesday. "Working with the Army and Air Force our cyber squadrons and teams will provide trained and ready Soldiers and Airmen to support requirements established by the services and U.S. Cyber Command."

The National Guard's first full-time, federal CPT unit, the 1636th Cyber Protection Team, was established in 2014 in Laurel, Maryland. Ten additional units will be added and will fall under state control. In addition to North Dakota, National Guard cyber specialists will operate in CPTs across Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. Once activated, they will join Army Guard units in California, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, which already have been announced.

Each CPT is comprised of 39 Guard Soldiers. Seven North Dakota Soldiers will support a shared CPT between Colorado, South Dakota and Utah. The cyber units are aligned to assist local Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regions, of which North Dakota supports Region VIII, to carry out the National Guard's mission of assisting in domestic emergency responses.

"This is an exciting time for the North Dakota National Guard. While our Soldiers and Airmen have continually proven themselves on battlefields overseas and during state emergencies at home, our cyber defenders will support our nation and state by detecting, analyzing and mitigating threats and vulnerabilities in the evolving arena of cyberspace," said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general. "We look forward to the addition of our Cyber Protection Team specialists and know it will be filled with some of the most highly-skilled, capable National Guard Soldiers."

The Air National Guard, nationally, also will have 12 Cyberspace Operations Squadrons that will participate in cyber protection, although not in North Dakota. According to the National Guard Bureau, the roll-out of National Guard cyber units is "part of laying out a larger foundation for future cyber forces scheduled for activation." By the end of 2019, 23 states will be home to an Air or Army National Guard cyber unit.

"This is the beginning," said Air Force Col. Kelly Hughes, chief of the Space and Cyber Warfare Operations Division at the Air National Guard Readiness Center, in Wednesday's news story. "This is a massive amount of force structure the Guard has laid into this mission, but this is just the first layer."

Should they be needed, the CPTs and cyber squadrons can be called upon to support state governors to provide cyber protection on government networks. While each state may not yet be home to a National Guard cyber unit, resources can be shared through Emergency Management Assistance Compacts.

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Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 4,200 Soldiers and over 2,600 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. About 70 percent of all members serving today have joined since that time. Currently, about 20 North Dakota Guardsmen are mobilized for overseas and domestic service. With a total force of about 4,100 Guardsmen, the North Dakota National Guard remains ready for stateside response and national defense. For every 10,000 citizens in North Dakota, 65 serve in the North Dakota National Guard, a rate that's more than four times the national average.

• Date Taken: 12.11.2015
• Date Posted: 12.11.2015 13:48
• Story ID: 184282
• Location: BISMARCK, ND, US