Photo By Lt. Col. Jeffrey Roosevelt | Visitors receive a brief from Maj. Ethan Evans, team leader for the Maine Army...... read more read more
PEMBROKE, N.H. - Approximately 30 Soldiers and Airmen from the Maine Army and Air National Guard participated in Cyber Yankee 2025, a premier regional cyber defense exercise, from May 5 to 16, 2025. Designed to bolster cyber readiness across New England, the exercise provided realistic training to enhance the combined response of military, government, and private sector teams to prepare for cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure.
Personnel from Bangor, Augusta, and South Portland units joined over 300 participants from across the country and abroad for the two-week training exercise held at the New Hampshire National Guard’s Edward Cross Training Complex in Pembroke, N.H. Cyber Yankee has grown over the past 11 years from a small event with fewer than 100 participants into a nationally recognized, multi-agency, multi-national effort focused on protecting vital systems, such as gas, electric, and water.
“The goal of Cyber Yankee is to enhance cooperation between the National Guard, federal and state government agencies, and private industry,” said Capt. Sean Osler, the Plans & Resources Flight Commander with the Maine Air National Guard’s 265th Combat Communications Squadron in South Portland. “We train now to build relationships and trust. The first time we meet our partners shouldn’t be during a real-world emergency.”
Cyber Yankee 2025 featured simulated cyberattacks from criminal and nation-state actors, mirroring the types of threats that are increasingly disrupting today’s digital infrastructure. Through realistic, scenario-based operations, participants collaborated across agencies to respond to simulated incidents in real-time.
“Cyber Yankee gives us the rare opportunity to train shoulder-to-shoulder with those we’ll depend on during an actual cyber crisis,” said Maj. Ethan Evans, the team leader for the Maine Army National Guard’s Defensive Cyber Operations Element. “It’s not just about technical skills—it’s about building trust and improving the speed and clarity of our response as a unified team.”
Participants in this year’s exercise included Army and Air National Guard members from all six New England states, as well as representatives from the U.S. Air Force Reserve, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Space Force, and over ten private utility and technology companies. Key federal agencies such as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Energy also played critical roles.
Cyber Yankee 2025 also welcomed participants from six allied nations, part of the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, which fosters long-term security cooperation between U.S. states and foreign militaries.
As the exercise rotates among host states—Massachusetts in 2024, New Hampshire in 2025, and Connecticut in 2026—the Maine National Guard remains committed to advancing a whole-of-nation approach to cyber defense, demonstrating leadership and readiness in the evolving digital battlespace.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2025 20:38 |
| Story ID: | 498408 |
| Location: | MAINE, US |
| Web Views: | 155 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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