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Governor Jim Justice and The Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, announce today that two of the West Virginia National Guard’s (WVNG) homeland defense units, the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Battalion and 35th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Yield Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP), have recently received federal funding to increase their full-time staff by up to 28 personnel between the two units.
The economic impact of these positions will total more than $1.6 million in federal investments for the West Virginia National Guard.
“I just can’t say enough good things about what the National Guard is doing for our state, especially in terms of job growth and bringing in federal investments that greatly benefit our economy,” Justice said. “These jobs are vitally important because they allow these specialized teams to protect our critical infrastructure and people all over the country. I couldn’t be more proud of the work they do each and every day.”
“The allocation of this funding for the growth of our cyber and CBRN defense capabilities is a testament to the work of our Soldiers and Airmen carrying out these missions every day,” said Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard. “Our organization is on the leading edge of filling those gaps and needs for homeland defense and national security missions and this is just another example of why our Joint Base West Virginia construct is a proven method for growth and ingenuity in West Virginia.”
Currently, the CIP Battalion, which falls under the WVNG’s Army Interagency Training and Education Center (AITEC), is in the process of hiring up to 18 additional cyber personnel to fulfill mission needs for the Department of Defense (DoD) and Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA). These Soldiers provide the Army’s Cyber Directorate and the Department of Military Operations-Cyber (DAMO-CY) a capability to conduct cybersecurity assessments of defense critical infrastructure. In addition to possessing information technology skills and training, assessment team members receive specialized training on operational technology from industry partners as part of their readiness requirements.
Beginning in April, the 35th CERFP will bring on an additional 10 personnel to their full-time roster fulfilling critical needs as a homeland defense response force in the CBRNE response enterprise. These Soldiers and Airmen will be critical assets to the team in ensuring maintenance of equipment, planning and preparations for short notice missions either in state or in the National Capital Region. The National Guard Bureau is providing the additional funds for these positions with West Virginia.
“Now that we will have a bigger footprint, we can focus not only on keeping up with our equipment, but it provides a unique opportunity for our unit to coordinate more with Local Emergency Planning Committees,” said U.S. Army Capt. Caroline Muriama, Action Officer for the 35th CERFP. “This [funding] gives us more flexibility to work with local emergency responders and participate in robust training events within the state in support of local agencies, which grows our capabilities as a response force for CBRNE incidents.”
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2019 11:45 |
| Story ID: | 315588 |
| Location: | CHARLESTON, WV, US |
| Web Views: | 376 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, West Virginia National Guard receives increase in full-time manning for cyber, homeland defense missions, by Maj. Holli Nelson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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