Photo By Mark Scott | From left, Sgt. Edward Acda, Lt. Col. Vern Perez, Sgt. 1st Class Celine Taitano, Capt....... read more read more
MANILA, Philippines (April 27, 2025) – A team of cyber professionals and an intelligence analyst from the Guam National Guard attended Balikatan 2025, participating in the three-week Cyber Defense Exercise alongside teams from various nations.
On the Guam Guard’s team were members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservists – longtime teammates and State Partnership Program partners for over 20 years. The GUNG and AFP team trained alongside active duty forces including U.S. Army, Marines, and Air Force, and other participating countries.
Over the course of three weeks, nearly 200 participants divided into seven teams showcased their ability to conduct defensive cyber operations in a training environment which included identifying cyber vulnerabilities, hunting and finding threats, and making recommendations to mitigate or defeat the threats. After three weeks of evaluation, the Guam Guard and AFP Reserve team ranked second overall.
Of all the evaluated Mission Essential Tasks, the highest scores for the team came in the categories of Crew Operations and Protection Actions. According to Sgt. 1st Class Celine Taitano, team lead for the Guard, the high scores reflected the close relationships and interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservists and the Guam Guard.
“The biggest takeaway for me was the high level of technical capability from the Philippines Reservists,” said Taitano. I don’t know if it’s because they recently went to training, or because they are technically proficient from their civilian jobs – but they are highly skilled, and I really enjoyed working alongside them. They also have a hospitality culture like ours, and they always made sure we had food.”
Sgt. Edward Acda, information technology specialist for the Guam Guard, agreed. “We learned a lot from our Philippine Reservist Counterparts,” “Some of them do this every day in their civilian jobs, so we learned how to use some of the tools available to us at an even higher level.”
Working together with the Cyber Team was Lt. Col. Vern Perez, cyber law expert, and Sgt. Avery Tyquiengco, intelligence analyst with the Guam Guard.
“There are bad guys on the network doing bad things,” said Tyquinegco. “It takes a team effort from intelligence, legal, and cyber operators to defend the network because they help guide each other and prioritize our efforts.”
Tyquiengco, who is also a community advocate and volunteer outside of the Guard, related the importance of this mission on a personal level. “It was great to be able to assist those who also serve their community in the Philippines. As Guardsmen and Reservists in the First and Second Island Chains, it’s important that we can face these challenges together.”
| Date Taken: | 05.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2025 20:32 |
| Story ID: | 498991 |
| Location: | PH |
| Web Views: | 420 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Guam Guard Cyber Participates in Balikatan 2025, by Mark Scott, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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