Photo By David Stoehr | Jose Barbosa, head of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport Electro-optic...... read more read more
NEWPORT, R.I. — Since 2018, Jose Barbosa has been head of the Electro-optic System Branch in Division Newport’s Undersea Warfare Electromagnetic Systems Department, overseeing the development of systems that support the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet. When not at NUWC, Barbosa provides leadership, management and direction to more than 30 cyberspace flight members in the R.I. Air National Guard.
As a major in the 143d Communications Flight, based in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, Barbosa serves as the Commander for the Communications Flight. The flight’s missions is to provide communications to the 143d Airlift Wing and the Air Force component assigned to the Rhode Island National Guard Joint Force Headquarters.
Barbosa’s service with the U.S. Air Force began in 1994 when he enlisted and was assigned to the 102nd Air Control Squadron as an aerospace ground equipment apprentice. After the closing of the 102nd Air Control Squadron in 1998, he transferred to the 282nd Combat Communications Squadron as a power production technician, then cross-trained into the communications computer systems control career field.
In 1999, Barbosa graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He began his career at Division Newport in 2004 as an electrical engineer. In 2004, he earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University, where his thesis topic was multi-spectral confocal microscopy for localization of exogenous contrast agents in nonmelanoma skin cancers. At Division Newport, he has led the Advanced Processing Build Imaging Working Group and has worked on various projects that include periscope imaging systems, electronic warfare and information operations.
He received his officer commission in 2005 from the Academy of Military Science at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee. After his commission, he transferred to the 281st Combat Communications Group as a communications officer engineer. In 2009, he deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the 506th Expeditionary Communications Squadron’s plans and resources flight commander. In 2013, he was reassigned to the 282nd Combat Communications Squadron.
Barbosa recently answered some questions about his service:
Q: Have you been called to duty during the coronavirus pandemic?
A: Several of my Airmen have supported the COVID-19 National Guard response, this year. They served under what is known as the Joint Task Force to provide support to local municipalities and the department of health and more. This support is still ongoing. The situation was fluid and my Airmen stood ready to answer the call.
Q: What is a typical weekend of Air National Guard service like?
A: As a Communication Flight, our mission is to provide communications to the 143d Airlift Wing. The Wing provides tactical airlift, combat communications, and cyberspace operations. The Wing encompasses all the squadrons on Quonset Air National Guard Base, Air Component in Joint Force Headquarters, and all Air Geographically Separated Units in Rhode Island. We execute this mission throughout the week. During weekend drills, we surge our capabilities to close out network trouble tickets and make progress on communication work orders. The additional workforce during the weekend helps greatly. Every month there are new communication tasking orders, new communication requirements, new projects to work on, and software/hardware updates or migrations. For example in August, we had all hands on deck to support the Cloud Hosted Enterprise Services (CHES) transition, which brings a suite of cloud-based communication and collaboration tools to outposts around the world.
As a strategic, and sometimes operational force, we also have to keep up on our training and deployment readiness. Shop supervisors are responsible for making sure Air National Guard Airmen get time on the equipment to enable skill level upgrade training and sign off on jobs skills and proficiency. Deployment readiness tasks and training are conducted during the weekend drills, for example, donning our chemical gear and gas mask or shooting range qualification.
Q: What is your most notable exercise?
A: The Joint Users Interoperability Communications Exercise 2014 (JUICE 2014) was my most notable exercise. JUICE was an annual, worldwide Department of Defense (DOD) joint communications exercise hosted by the U.S. Army Communications - Electronics Command (CECOM) and the CECOM Software Engineering Center. The traditional focus of JUICE has been joint communications interoperability across the DOD, allied/coalition/industry partners, and state/local agencies. JUICE offers key stakeholders from the research and development, acquisition, testing, operational, strategic, coalition and technical communities, an opportunity to collaborate and forge new joint interoperable communications solutions.
During JUICE 2014, I was the director of the Joint Task Force Joint Cyber Center. The Joint Cyber Center demonstrated the concept of having a network defense and monitoring capability organic to the Joint Task Force (JTF). This provided the JTF commander the capability to monitor and defend the JTF network and its subordinate service component networks in real time.
Q: Why did you sign up for the Guard?
A: During my senior year in high school, I applied to all out of state colleges that had flight pilot programs. I was accepted to all of them, but even with financial aid, I could not afford any of them. My guidance counselor talked to me about engineering, since I was good in math and science. He recommended I apply to URI’s Talent Development Program. I had missed the application deadline and wanted to get away from my environment. I grew up in a bad neighborhood and there were a lot of negative influences. I did not want to be around for another year waiting to start college. My guidance counselor set me up with an Air National Guard recruiter and I enlisted.
Q: What advice do you have for anyone interested in Guard duty?
A: Come talk to me. I started as an enlisted member and later became an officer. The National Guard and military in general has many opportunities. Some benefits are sign-on bonuses, tuition assistance, training that is marketable in the civilian sector, comradery, and a sense of being part of something that is bigger than yourself. I have more than 26 years of service with the R.I. Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. I have deployed, responded to state emergencies, been exposed to state-of-the-art research while assigned to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and am now a commander of highly skilled Airmen. I also believe the military creates and develops leaders. Come talk to me about all of the different benefits.
NUWC Division Newport is a shore command of the U.S. Navy within the Naval Sea Systems Command, which engineers, builds and supports America’s fleet of ships and combat systems. NUWC Newport provides research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, undersea offensive and defensive weapons systems, and countermeasures associated with undersea warfare.
NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.
| Date Taken: | 11.13.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.13.2020 12:32 |
| Story ID: | 382973 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RI, US |
| Hometown: | CRANSTON, RI, US |
| Web Views: | 130 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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