The 194th Wing made history by becoming the first Air National Guard wing to host the Cyber Protection Team Conference, a meeting of military and civilian cyber protection professionals, at the Pierce County Readiness Center on Camp Murray, Wash., Feb. 23-27, 2026.
The conference was spearheaded by the 143rd and 262nd Cyber Operations Squadrons.
“[Hosting the event is] a huge win for not only for the Washington Air Guard, but the Air [National] Guard as a whole,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Kendall Dyson, one of the lead event planners who formerly served with the 143rd COS and is currently with the 960th Operations Support Squadron.
Dyson stressed the importance of using the week-long event to build relationships across units to enhance total force capabilities to aid in the protection of national security.
CPTCON was previously an annual event hosted by active-duty units but had not been held in several year. Dyson explained that he and the other lead event planner, U.S. Air Force Capt. Daniel Van Dyke, chief of training for the 262nd COS, saw an opportunity to bring the event back due to the increase of cyber protection teams within the Air National Guard.
“[Cyber protection] is a growing mission set, in fact, it’s the fastest growing mission set in the Air National Guard,” said Dyson. “We have about four more states that are standing up cyber protection teams in the next four years.” “We have probably four or five new [Air National Guard] units that are changing from their old mission set to cyber,” Van Dyke said. “These new units are now building connections through this community and helping to get their feet under them.”
According to Van Dyke the conference hosted over 40 training sessions, as well as breakout groups focusing on elements like leadership operations, intelligence, and weapons and tactics. Roughly 165 attendees representing 45 different organizations attended, including all Air Force components and representatives from the Army, Space Force, National Security Agency and others.
Dyson believes that this year’s event will drive collaboration and innovation for cyber protection units moving forward.
“The big picture is we as the cyber protection team are much more focused, much more standardized, and much more efficient,” said Dyson. “We’re also creating better partnerships in the cyber community, and through these partnerships, we can greatly expand the capabilities of defensive cyber, which is ultimately aiding in the protection of national security.”