Moving In On the Cyber Mission

The National Guard’s first test unit has begun cyber training at the Professional Education Center at Little Rock AFB, Ark.,in an effort to “buy in” to the nation’s growing cyber mission, said National Guard Bureau Chief Army Gen. Frank Grass. Some 39 Guardsmen from different states began the 18-week training course, which is based off the same model US Cyber Command uses to prepare and equip individuals, on Oct. 1, said Grass during a Nov. 19 meeting with defense reporters in Washington, D.C. Once the training is complete, the Guard hopes to send the Guardsmen back to their states so it can “build upon that” model. The goal is to eventually “submerse” Guard units or detachments across the country with cyber capabilities, he said. “What we’ve been talking [about] with Cyber Command, and the Army and Air Force, is whatever force structure [they] design for the future, ….the Guard wants to be a part of that,” he said. During the meeting, Grass told reporters the Guard also offers “technical solutions” and authority to assist state governments in case of emergencies, where Title 10 of the US Code may prohibit US military action.