175 COS Provides Cyber Support for Southern Strike 2022

Photo By Sgt. Benjamin Tomlinson | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Demetrius Deck with 175th Cyberspace Operations Squadron, 175th Wing, Maryland Air National Guard, based in Middle River, Maryland, prepares his work station during Southern Strike 2022 at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center Gulfport, Mississippi, April 27, 2022. Southern Strike 2022 is an excellent test of joint teams' ability to conduct major campaign, crisis response and security cooperation operations. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Benjamin Tomlinson)  

GULFPORT AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MS, UNITED STATES

05.01.2022

Story by Spc. Benjamin Tomlinson 

102d Public Affairs Detachment

GULFPORT, Miss. - Every day, technology is becoming more and more advanced bringing new threats in technological warfare. Within the United States military, a cyber team’s most important tasks include defending military networks and weapons platforms and protecting America's critical infrastructure.
The 175th Cyberspace Operations Squadron, Maryland Air National Guard, based in Middle River, Maryland, provided electronic warfare support for various entities while at Southern Strike 2022. Southern Strike 2022 is a large-scale, joint multinational combat exercise hosted by the Mississippi National Guard that provides tactical level training for the full spectrum of conflict.
As a cyberspace operations Squardon, the 175th is responsible for protecting military networks and the country against cyberattacks from enemy forces.
“Our main goal is to come in, integrate and be able to bolster the support that is required for our mission,” said by Maj. Dan Sorensen, cyber component lead, Maryland Air National Guard. “One of the key components is often times communication. We’re going to try and do more integration to be able to protect critical infrastructure and key resources.”
The capabilities of a cyber operations unit helps the entire force to be better suited for the present age of warfighting.
“The key is to combine cyber within the electronic warfare as well as special forces to see how we can move to the next generation of preparedness,” said by Sorensen.
Large-scale training exercises prepare the military's cyber force to fight real-world cyber threats, close adversaries, and other global cyber threats.

• Date Taken: 05.01.2022
• Date Posted: 05.01.2022 14:50
• Story ID: 419700
• Location: GULFPORT AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MS, US