PARTNERS FOR 30 YEARS, POLAND AND THE ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD PAIR UP FOR NATION’S PREMIERE UNCLASSIFIED CYBER EXERCISE

LITTLE ROCK, AR, UNITED STATES

06.16.2023

Story by Spc. Destiny Medrano 

139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

The 30-year State Partnership Program between the Illinois National Guard and the Polish military achieved another landmark as two Polish Cyber Command warriors trained side-by-side with their Illinois partners in Cyber Shield 2023.
Cyber Shield is the U.S. military’s premier unclassified cyber exercise involving about 800 cyber warriors from across the country. This year Poland also participated in the exercise, held from June 2-16 at the Army National Guard’s Professional Education Center on Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Ark.
“This bilateral collaboration is beneficial to both sides,” said Maj. Marcin Barszcz of the Polish Cyber Command. He said the relationships built through the State Partnership Program are “crucial in the cybersecurity effort and struggles we have on a daily basis.”
Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, the Adjutant General of Illinois and Commander of the Illinois National Guard, said the 30-year relationship between the Illinois National Guard and Poland has proven its importance on the world stage.
“Poland has played a vital role in assisting Ukraine against Russian aggression. It is important to remember that Russian-backed hackers have crossed multiple international boundaries in the cyber realm including attacks here in Illinois,” said Neely, a master cyberspace officer. “Poland has robust cyber defense capabilities and a thriving technology sector with incredible talent. We can learn a lot from our Polish friends as they learn from us. Cyber is a natural extension of the incredible State Partnership Program relationship that we have shared for three decades.”
Capt. John Thomas, the Cyber Network Defense Manager for the Illinois Army National Guard’s Bloomington-based 176th Cyber Protection Team was the lead for Illinois’ blue team in the exercise. The blue teams are the cyber defenders or the exercise’s ‘good guys.’ Illinois had more than 30 individuals participate in the exercise including Illinois National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, the Polish service members, and representation from the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT.)
“Poland’s support to the exercise was both critical to our success and it was exciting to bring their perspectives to the exercise,” Thomas said. “Members of the Polish Cyber Command were exceptional additions to the team, bringing vast skill sets and crucial knowledge to the exercise.”
Illinois Army National Guard Col. Jeff Fleming, the exercise officer-in-charge, said that Cyber Shield evolves as cyber threats evolve. This year, he said, the focus of the exercise was defending against threats to “operational technology” – hardware and software that detects or causes a change, through the direct monitoring and/or control of industrial equipment, assets, processes and events. Cyber Shield’s red team hackers attacked critical infrastructure in the U.S. transportation system.
“There are now significant risks to ICS that were never a consideration before,” Barszcz said. “To name a few - worms, various viruses, unauthorized remote accesses – a whole arsenal of toys and tools that adversaries use.”
Although the Polish and Illinois National Guard have had cyber-related military exchanges before, this was the first time the Polish have participated in Cyber Shield, Barszcz said. “This is our first step in future collaboration in this field.”
Aside from the Illinois-Polish team, National Guard troops from four other states also participated on blue teams with their State Partnership Program countries including Iowa and Kosovo, Kansas and Armenia, Oklahoma and Azerbaijan, as well as North Carolina and Moldova. Colorado’s SPP partner Slovenia and West Virginia’s SPP partner Peru visited the exercise but did not participate on teams.
Cyber Shield helps retain cyber professionals in Illinois National Guard, Thomas said. “This is a top tier training event that allows individuals to test their skills, identify training gaps, and continue to grow as professionals. I believe exciting training events such as Cyber Shield encourage soldiers to re-enlist and continue to be stewards of the profession.”
The first week of the exercise focuses on training and help cyber professionals get valuable civilian certifications and to learn from instructors representing some of the industry’s top cyber and information technology institutions. The second week puts the cyber warriors to the test as Cyber Shield’s “red team” attacks the training network as the blue teams try to protect against the onslaught of digital attacks.
“Cyber Shield is an unclassified defensive cyber operations exercise that allows us to build cyber capability, capacity, and competency in the National Guard through unity of effort with industry and government partners and Allies to provide hope, and ultimately will, on the darkest days,” said Brig. Gen. Teri Williams, the Vice Director of Operations (Cyber), National Guard Bureau, Arlington, VA.
The State Partnership between the Illinois National Guard and Poland was among the first established and is considered the “gold standard” of State Partnership Programs. It started in 1993 just after Poland emerged from behind the USSR’s “Iron Curtain” and helped prepare Poland for NATO membership, which it achieved in 1999. Polish and Illinois National Guard Soldiers co-deployed first to Iraq and then to Afghanistan for more than 17 consecutive years. Each year, the Illinois National Guard and Poland have about 30 military exchanges including recent teams training with the Polish Territorial Defense Forces on sniper, anti-tank and medical operations.

• Date Taken: 06.16.2023
• Date Posted: 07.02.2023 18:01
• Story ID: 448469
• Location: LITTLE ROCK, AR, US