Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Daniel Heaton | 127th Communications Flight personnel during a training mission at the 176th Wing,...... read more read more
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As the 127th Wing’s cyber security manager, Master Sgt. JaVonn Stone says “no” a lot.
He’s the person who gets asked when someone in the wing wants to do something different or extra on their computer that’s tied in to the Air Force network.
“And the answer is almost always, ‘no,’” Stone said.
Being the guy who says “no” so much can make a person feel a bit isolated at times, he said. So, spending two weeks training with his counterparts in the Alaska Air National Guard at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson feels like validation.
“It is good to be able to talk to someone else who does exactly what I do and validate the things we do to keep our network system secure,” he said.
About 30 members of the 127th Wing from the Michigan Air National Guard are spending two weeks working with active duty Air Force and Alaska Air National Guard personnel at the Alaska base, sharing best practices and honing individual skills. It is part of the Air National Guard’s annual training requirement for each Citizen-Airmen. The Michigan contingent are from the 127th Communications Flight, 127th Logistics Readiness Squadron and the 127th Wing staff.
Tech. Sgt. Misieli Taufaeteau, a member of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Communications Squadron, said the biggest benefit is simply the “cross-talk.”
Taufaeteau has been working with Michigan’s Master Sgt. Virginia Barnowski. They both work on the records management systems for their respective Wings.
“She’s shown me some things, on how she is able to be proactive with certain programs she has responsibility for. I’ve showed her some things I do,” he said.
There’s not one big “ah-ha” moment, Barnowski said.
“You’re always looking to improve, trying to see if there is a more efficient way to do things,” Barnowski said.
Since she’s one of only two knowledge operation managers at her home station of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan, she said it is beneficial to engage in joint training with another unit.
“We have to rely on our career field, on the other Airmen who do what we do so we can keep our programs the best they can be,” she said.
Senior Master Sgt. Scott Gordon, who is supervising the Communications Airmen on the Alaska trip said the joint training is beneficial for all involved.
“Everyone brings strengths to the table and this is an opportunity to share those strengths with everyone,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 08.29.2019 14:43 |
| Story ID: | 337913 |
| Location: | ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 103 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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