JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer of Washington State’s 6th Congressional District visited the Washington Air National Guard’s 262nd Network Warfare Squadron here on August 12. Kilmer toured the 262nd facility, addressed airmen and fielded questions, and met with senior Washington National Guard leaders. As part of the Air Guard’s 252nd Cyberspace Operations Group, the 262nd is known for its work assembling Cyber Protection Teams, developing protocols and best practices for cyber defense, and conducting a cybersecurity assessment on a public utility.
“You’re really well positioned to build our cyber resiliency and build the next generation of cyber warriors,” Kilmer told airmen of the 262nd. Kilmer said that the National Guard is especially critical when it comes to state-level cyberspace operations.
Kilmer represents Tacoma, Bremerton, and the Olympic Peninsula, and he serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee. He described legislation that he is sponsoring to create a state cybersecurity grant program modeled after existing Homeland Security grants.
“I look at these issues in the cyber domain like I look at public health issues,” he said. Government agencies should lead the way in “cyber hygiene,” he said, and government should be prepared to respond to cyber emergencies much as it would respond to public health emergencies, he added.
Kilmer’s visit was “a phenomenal show of support to our men and women in uniform,” said Lt. Col. Robert Siau, commander of the 262nd. “We appreciate him taking our inputs into national level discussions.”