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Max Talk 46: Video (Night Vision) HEAT Night Operations Class

Monday, November 25th, 2019

This is the forty-fifth installment of ‘Max Talk Monday’ which shares select episodes from a series of instructional videos. Max Velocity Tactical (MVT) has established a reputation on the leading edge of tactical live fire and force on force training. MVT is dedicated to developing and training tactical excellence at the individual and team level.

This video was taken on the second night of the HEAT Night Operations Class in November 2019, using a ‘student cam’ equipped with an ANVRS camera.

More information on this class can be found at maxvelocitytactical.com/tactical-classes/h-e-a-t-night-operations

Class prerequisites are:
HEAT 1 Combat Tactics
HEAT 2 Combat Patrol

Max is a tactical trainer and author, a lifelong professional soldier with extensive military experience. He served with British Special Operations Forces, both enlisted and as a commissioned officer; a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Max served on numerous operational deployments, and also served as a recruit instructor. Max spent five years serving as a paramilitary contractor in both Iraq and Afghanistan; the latter two years working for the British Government in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Website: Max Velocity Tactical

YouTube: Max Velocity Tactical

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US Army Project May Improve Military Communications by Boosting 5G Technology

Sunday, November 24th, 2019

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (Nov. 21, 2019) — An Army-funded project may boost 5G and mm-Wave technologies, improving military communications and sensing equipment.

Carbonics, Inc., partnered with the University of Southern California to develop a carbon nanotube technology that, for the first time, achieved speeds exceeding 100GHz in radio frequency applications. The milestone eclipses the performance — and efficiency — of traditional Radio Frequency Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor, known as RF-CMOS technology, that is ubiquitous in modern consumer electronics, including cell phones.

“This milestone shows that carbon nanotubes, long thought to be a promising communications chip technology, can deliver,” said Dr. Joe Qiu, program manager, solid state and electromagnetics at the Army Research Office. “The next step is scaling this technology, proving that it can work in high-volume manufacturing. Ultimately, this technology could help the Army meet its needs in communications, radar, electronic warfare and other sensing applications.”

The research was published in the journal Nature Electronics.

The work, funded by ARO, an element of U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory, is a part of a Small Business Technology Transfer Program. The program focuses on feasibility studies leading to prototype demonstration of technology for specific applications.

For nearly two decades, researchers have theorized that carbon nanotubes would be well suited as a high-frequency transistor technology due to its unique one-dimensional electron transport characteristics. The engineering challenge has been to assemble the high-purity semiconducting nanotubes into densely aligned arrays and create a working device out of the nanomaterial.

Carbonics, a venture backed start-up, and USC, successfully overcame this challenge. Projections based on scaling single carbon nanotube device metrics suggest the technology could ultimately far exceed the top-tier incumbent RF technology, Gallium Arsenide.

Carbonics employs a deposition technology called ZEBRA that enables carbon nanotubes to be densely aligned and deposited onto a variety of chip substrates including silicon, silicon-on-insulator, quartz and flexible materials. This allows the technology to be directly integrated with traditional CMOS digital logic circuits, overcoming the typical problem of heterogeneous integration.

“With this exciting accomplishment, the timing is ripe to leverage our CMOS-compatible technology for the 5G and mm-Wave defense communication markets,” said Carbonics’ CEO Kos Galatsis. “We are now engaged in licensing and technology transfer partnerships with industry participants, while we continue to advance this disruptive RF technology.”

In 2014, Carbonics spun-out from the joint center of UCLA-USC and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia called the Center of Excellence for Green Nanotechnologies.

The research is based in part, on work funded by the Army more than 10 years ago at University of California Irvine. A graduate student who worked on that project for his doctoral thesis research, Dr. Christopher Rutherglen, is now Carbonics’ chief technology officer.

By U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs

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SCUBAPRO Sunday – Drinking Saltwater

Sunday, November 24th, 2019

I know most people will never be on a boat that sinks and be in the situation, whereas they would have to try and survive by drinking saltwater. First, don’t drink saltwater it will kill you. But there might come a time that you are on are out in the field for a long time, and you have to find water, and its either get it from the ocean or possible from a river or swap that has brackish water (half salt/ half fresh). The best method is to have a pump with you that can be used for saltwater. It will be a lot of work pumping saltwater and turning it into fresh is a lot of work for a little reward. There is also a way to get clean water out of saltwater that uses a leaching method that you can fill and forget. HTI uses Osmosis is the natural diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane from a solution containing a low concentration of dissolved solids to a solution having a higher level of dissolved solids. When it comes to the best method for you that depends on the situation, I am going to talk about a few different techniques and also suggest a few things you can just buy and keep around.

Getting salt out of seawater requires the following essential components. It doesn’t matter what you do to accomplish this, but they should be as clean as posable.

1. Method of evaporation

2. Something to catch condensation

3. A way to collect the condensation back into a substantial container.

There are a lot of things you can use to accomplish this, and during a real survival situation, knowing the necessary actions will go a long way. You should always carry the right items, so if you find yourself in this situation, it will make it a lot easier. All of this will go a long way and could save your life. You should always have items to purify water on your boat because you never know what will happen. You can have this in your boat, and if you need it, it is there.

Above is a basic Solar still, you can even just put a plastic bag on green vegetation and collect water that way.

This can be accomplished with a poncho also. Beach well. Along the coast, obtain water by digging a beach well. If you are near a beach you can go back on the beach or inland a little bit and dig a beach well, let it fill with water and drain it at least three times before you drink it. It should be boiled or treated.

There was an 18year old kid from Indonesia that survived 49 days on a tiny fishing boat, and he used his clothes to filter the water thru to make it (more) drinkable. He used his cotton shirt and drank the water thru it. Some studies have shown that filtering water through a sari, is a garment that is commonly worn by women in the Indian subcontinent, can significantly increase its potability. In 2003, scientists discovered that filtering water from rivers and ponds in Bangladesh through a folded piece of cotton cloth taken from a sari cut the risk of infection with cholera by half. Interestingly, they noted that old fabric makes for a better filter than new material because the pore size of loose threads is smaller.

In a follow-up study in 2015, researchers found that a filter made of four layers of worn cotton material could filter out more than 99 percent of all cholera bacteria.

One of the biggest things to remember in a survival situation is, do not eat if you don’t have water. If you have water available to you, you should try and filter it as much as possible. But if it comes to, I am going to die if I don’t drink the water. Well, most survival experts say to drink it. (that only counts for freshwater not water with salt in it) When you are rescued, a lot of what you can get from drinking bad water can be treated.

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Soldier Center, Harvard Collaborate to Advance Soldier Technologies

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

NATICK, Mass. — The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center is working with Harvard University to research a wide range of technologies to enhance Soldier protection and performance. Soldier knowledge and input are playing a key role in the partnership.

“The collaboration between the CCDC Soldier Center and Harvard University will help identify and address capability gaps to better meet the needs of Soldiers and will help to get new critical capabilities into the hands of our Soldiers more quickly,” said Douglas Tamilio, director of the CCDC Soldier Center. “Research will also benefit immensely from the ingenuity of both organizations and from the added insight made possible by the involvement of former and current Soldiers throughout the research, development, engineering and testing process.”

The CCDC Soldier Center is dedicated to using science and technology to ensure America’s warfighters are optimized, protected, and lethal. CCDC SC supports all of the Army’s Modernization efforts, with the Soldier Lethality and Synthetic Training Environment Cross Functional Teams being the CCDC SC’s chief areas of focus. The center’s science and engineering expertise are combined with collaborations with industry, DOD, and academia to advance Soldier and squad performance.

The center supports the Army as it transforms from being adaptive to driving innovation to support a Multi-Domain Operations Capable Force of 2028 and a MDO Ready Force of 2035. CCDC SC is constantly working to strengthen Soldiers’ performance to increase readiness and support for warfighters who are organized, trained, and equipped for prompt and sustainable ground combat.

Some of the research being performed by Harvard and CCDC SC comes under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, between CCDC SC and Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or Harvard SEAS.

“The Master CRADA will provide a streamlined way for the organizations to collaborate in diverse areas of mutual interest and leverage each other’s expertise,” said Sheri Mennillo, CCDC SC’s technology transfer manager who helped develop the Master CRADA between Harvard and CCDC SC.

Dr. Kevin “Kit” Parker is the technical point of contact for Harvard for the CRADA. Parker is the Tarr

Family Professor of the Bioengineering and Applied Physics Disease Biophysics Group, Wyss Institute for Biologically-Inspired Engineering, at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Parker, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, is also a professor in the department of Chemical and Life Sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Parker and other scientists in his lab are working closely with the Soldier Center.

“Collaboration with academia is a critical means by which we at Soldier Center can ensure that we can provide truly innovative ways to increase Soldier lethality,” said Dr. Richard Green, director of the Soldier Protection and Survivability Directorate at the CCDC Soldier Center. “The Soldier Center is located near some of the premier academic research institutions in the world, and we regularly engage with local universities and universities that are farther away to help enable solutions that may not have been thought possible in the past. Through collaborations, such as our collaboration with Kit Parker’s lab at Harvard, we learn more about the art of the possible, and academia gets a better understanding of challenges the Army faces as we work to modernize for the future fight.”

“Academic collaborations, especially those with distinguished local universities such as Harvard, provide CCDC SC the opportunity to leverage cutting-edge expertise and facilities to augment our own R&D capabilities,” said Dr. Kathleen Swana, a researcher at CCDC SC. “CCDC SC, in return, provides valuable scientific and Soldier-centric expertise and testing capabilities to help drive the research forward. Dr. Kit Parker’s experience and technical prowess also provide a unique perspective on potential science and technology solutions for the Soldier, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of future collaborations with his lab.”

The spark for the initial idea for the partnership came about when Parker and Brian Wood, the G-8 budget officer at CCDC SC and formerly a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, were attending a Pacific Operational Science and Technology meeting. Parker and Wood realized the many potential benefits of CCDC SC working with Harvard to advance technologies for the Soldier. Both men served in the same unit in the U.S. Army Reserve Sustainment Command Detachment 8.

One of the projects that CCDC SC and Harvard University are working on together is the development and testing of ballistic protection nanofibers, which have the potential to be used to create lighter body armor.

Grant Gonzalez, one of Parker’s PhD students, invented the nanofibers.

“We are reimagining Kevlar fibers, attempting to make them stronger and tougher, by decreasing their diameter to change how the polymer inherently organizes and crystalizes,” said Gonzalez. “These fibers will decrease the weight the warfighter carriers without sacrificing protection.”

The Harvard inventor needed CCDC SC’s ballistics and testing expertise. Gonzalez, who has been the primary liaison between Parker’s laboratory and CCDC SC, has now graduated and is the first PhD student to be jointly mentored by people at CCDC SC and Harvard.

“The capabilities of the CCDC SC allow us to quantify the successes of our fibers from the perspective and needs of the warfighter,” said Gonzalez.

In addition to ballistic protection, Parker noted that the Kevlar nanofibers invented by Gonzalez have other potential uses.

“We’re working with Natick’s boot lab to test Kevlar nanofibers on the bottom of combat boots and doing abrasion testing,” said Parker. “When working with the Kevlar and ballistics, we realized that there were some unique abrasive properties, helping Soldiers better navigate lava rock and terra firma. The Kevlar nanofibers also have flame-retardant properties. So, if you are an armored crew member or if you are on an aircraft, in both situations, you may need to worry about an onboard fire. The idea is that we may be able to put Kevlar nanofibers into your flight suit or crewmember suit to give you more flame retardancy.”

Gonzalez explained that the fibers may also have applications for emergency responders, police, and firemen.

“These fibers have potential applications in ballistic protection for police and puncture-resistant materials for emergency responders and firefighters,” said Gonzalez.

Former and current Soldiers are involved throughout research, development and testing process, providing all-important insight into identifying capability gaps to meet the needs of the warfighter.

“Army Reserve Soldiers bring a critical combination of expertise to the table — civilian education and professional experience coupled with military experience and associated professional relationships from both sides,” said Wood. “Having current and former Soldiers involved in S&T brings expertise, experience and the passion to follow the effort to completion. Further, these Soldiers may personally benefit from the S&T developments and new capabilities in an operational environment. Through Soldiers’ knowledge and operational experience, they bring critical insight as to what is needed and if/how the new equipment will be used.”

Parker served several combat tours in Afghanistan and has first-hand knowledge of issues and capability gaps faced by Soldiers on the battlefield. Parker’s lab at Harvard includes many military veterans, including veterans who did tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as tours in Africa and the Philippines.

“So these are folks with first-hand battlefield experience,” said Parker. “This is unprecedented. There are multiple layers of expert input going into the science.”

West Point cadets also participate in Parker’s lab at Harvard. CCDC SC works collaboratively with West Point cadets as well.

“I want cadets to understand the role of science and technology in providing for the force,” said Parker. “It’s important to get users involved in design processes very early on. In addition to Soldier research, the idea is that we are training tech-savvy leaders for the next generation of Army combat leaders, and we are training the next generation of civilian scientists and engineers to support national security.”

Parker pointed out that there is great potential for Soldiers to work in labs after uniformed service. He noted that this experience builds on, and exploits, their value to the nation and supports the model of Soldier for Life.

“I have a bunch of military veterans, including Army, working in my lab,” said Parker. “Taking these junior enlisted and junior NCOs and bringing their subject matter expertise, technical knowledge, and applications orientation to the basic science lab is extremely unusual and points to what I call ‘Soldier innovation.’ Junior enlisted and NCO corps expertise are one of the greatest untapped resources that our defense research complex needs to access.”

Parker said he greatly admires the brain power available at CCDC SC. He is eager to expand his research ties throughout CCDC SC and is eager to establish a working relationship with the Combat Feeding Directorate in particular.

“Soldiers have unique dietary needs,” said Parker. “I think people don’t realize that when you sit down to eat an MRE (Meal, Ready to Eat), that’s a scientific and technology parade.”

Both Wood and Parker are dedicated to serving the Soldier and believe the CRADA will lead to even more collaborative efforts in the future.

“Since the CRADA reaches into the entire School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, we anticipate that this agreement could lead to break through developments in multiple technical areas,” said Wood.

“I want to be able to say that the Soldier in the field is better off because of something we did in the lab,” said Parker. “We want to make a major contribution to the Army’s future.”

By Jane Benson, CCDC SC

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Soldiers Test New Integrated Visual Augmentation System

Friday, November 22nd, 2019

FORT BENNING, Ga. — Soldiers at Fort Pickett, Va. are testing a Microsoft-designed prototype goggle, the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), that offers the capabilities they need to regain and maintain overmatch in multi-domain operations on battlefields that are increasingly urban, congested, dark and unpredictable.

The event is called a Soldier touch point, or STP, and it is fast becoming the standard for the new Army Futures Command’s (AFC) rapid acquisitions methodology. STPs allow industry partners to field test system prototypes repeatedly throughout the research and development process to ensure the final product, in this case the multi-functional IVAS goggle, is met with enthusiasm and truly useful when its fielded to the force.

The Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team (SL CFT) and their partners in military and industry are hosting the STP at Fort Pickett, a National Guard post known for relevant training sites, like the urban village used to replicate combat scenarios that have become commonplace in Middle Eastern operations. The object is to make sure the warfighter drives the design and development based on need and utility. The concept is called Soldier Centered Design, and though it’s not a new concept, it is the first time it has been institutionalized, the first time it has been applied systemically to increase speed and efficiency.

In the spring, Soldier and Marines from various line and special forces units tested an early IVAS prototype based on Microsoft’s heads up display which was designed using Microsoft’s HoloLens 2. That first STP was geared toward proving concept and utility.

The STP underway today at Pickett, the second of four STPs in the 24-month development schedule, is a tougher test designed to assess new capabilities at the platoon level and increase demands on the system in more complex training environments. At this point, about half-way through STP 2, Microsoft has gathered feedback from more than 3,200 hours of user experience.

The SL CFT is one of AFC’s eight CFTs tasked with modernizing the Army after the 2018 National Defense Strategy identified an erosion in close combat capabilities relative to pacing threats around the world. The SL CFT focuses on developing weapons for the Close Combat Force — those who close with and destroy the enemy — to make them more successful in battle. Success is defined in terms of survivability, lethality, situational awareness and maneuverability.

Of all the products and programs in the SL CFT portfolio, IVAS is arguably the most intriguing, as it is the result of complex, non-traditional partnerships and unconventional funding methods (contracts with Microsoft funded through Other Transaction Agreements), and it harnesses a variety of next generation technologies unlike anything the American Soldier has employed ever before.

The final product — officials say it will likely be fielded in the fourth quarter of FY21 — will include a variety of features: a color see-through digital display that makes it possible for the user to access information without taking his eye off the battlefield; thermal and low-light sensors that make it possible to see in the dark, literally; rapid target acquisition and aided target identification; augmented reality and artificial intelligence, to name just a few. IVAS is billed as a fight-rehearse-train system, meaning its function on the battlefield is priority, but its augmented reality capabilities, like real-time mapping, will make it useful for training and rehearsing operations anywhere at any time. And though it’s said to “enhance the survivability” of combatants, its target identification technology will save civilian lives, too.

“When terms like ‘situational awareness’ get thrown around time after time, it’s easy to lose sight of what it really means,” said MAJ Brad Winn, the CFT’s lead action officer for IVAS. “In this case, one of the greatest capabilities of IVAS is Aided Target Recognition, a feature that gives users the ability to quickly identify anything or anyone in sight, which means they can tell the difference between a threat and a civilian non-combatant.”

Winn is one of many members of Team IVAS, a diverse group of Soldiers, civilian employees, academics and industry partners who leverage their respective organizations’ expertise to expedite the development and fielding process. Aside from the SL CFT, Team IVAS includes experts from Microsoft, other CFTs, PEO Soldier, ATEC, the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Research Lab and Soldier Center, and a half dozen other members of that complex integrated network of mostly military command-level organizations known as the Futures Force Modernization Enterprise.

Microsoft “deployed” a team from the west coast to live at Fort Pickett for the duration of this STP, more than a month, to gather feedback and make changes to the goggle every day. They’ll repeat the process next summer, when they put the next iteration of IVAS, the all-weather, ruggedized and militarized, form-fitting prototype to the test in company level operations.

STP 4 will follow in 2021.

By Bridgett Siter

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FirstSpear Friday Focus – USA Merino Wool Socks

Friday, November 22nd, 2019

FirstSpear is at it again with all new additions to the USA Merino Wool line.

Like most FirstSpear products the all new Boot Super Sock and Every Day Sock are 100% American made with USA materials. Both the EDS and BSS are constructed from a tubular knit for enhanced support and all day comfort.

The all new EDS features a reinforced heel and toe box, support ribbing through the arch, as well as light and thin across the top to help dissipate heat.

Exceptional moisture wicking and antimicrobial properties will keep your feet dry and comfortable throughout the day.

EDS: 82% Merino Wool, 12% Nylon, 6% Lycra

BSS: 86% Merino Wool, 8% Nylon, 6% Spandex blend

Available and shipping now in sizes small through XL.

BSS: www.first-spear.com/technical-apparel/american-merino-wool/boot-super-sock-bss

EDS: www.first-spear.com/technical-apparel/american-merino-wool/every-day-sock-eds

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Innovative Hearing Protection May Protect Military Working Dogs Like The One Who Helped In The al-Baghdadi Raid

Wednesday, November 20th, 2019

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (Nov. 20, 2019) — Military working dogs played a vital role in the recent raid and death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; however, temporary and permanent hearing loss due to high-decibel noise in training, transport and operations put these animals at risk. Now, thanks to an Army small business innovation program, canines may have new gear to protect their ears.

Zeteo Tech, Inc., in partnership with Pete “Skip” Scheifele M.D., Ph.D., a retired Navy lieutenant commander, professor at the University of Cincinnati and leading animal audiology expert, developed the Canine Auditory Protection System, known as CAPS, to prevent short-term hearing loss in military working dogs.

“Even a short helicopter flight can affect a dog’s hearing, resulting in impaired performance and inability to hear the handler’s commands, which can hinder the mission,” said Dr. Stephen Lee, senior scientist at Army Research Office. “This new technology protects the canine while on missions and can extend the dog’s working life.”

The U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command supported the program as a part of a Small Business Innovation Research grant managed by ARO — an element of U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory.

Military workings dogs are used for a variety of roles, including tactical operations, patrol, detection and specialized search. Until now hearing protection systems available were rigid, cumbersome and hard to put on the dog, with limited effectiveness in testing for the protection of canine hearing.

The CAPS uses lightweight, high-quality acoustic absorption materials to block unwanted sounds. Unlike conventional canine hearing protection, this solution is constructed of flexible materials that conform to the unique shape of a dog’s head. This flexibility ensures proper sealing around the ear and maximum sound reduction.

The snood-style headgear, resembling a close-fitting hood, uniformly distributes the pressure required to hold the hearing protection in place, while avoiding challenges associated with straps. At a little more than an inch thick, the device’s low profile will not be a hindrance for dogs working in tight spaces. It is also compatible with other gear used by working dogs, such as goggles.

The research team tested the headgear extensively with military working dogs, as well as federal law enforcement working dogs, for wearability, usability and comfort. The team also measured the hearing protection effectiveness during helicopter operations and found a significant reduction in short-term hearing loss.

“This new technology will extend canines ability to work in a wide range of environments in combination with the Soldier and autonomous systems that could greatly enhance situational awareness of the individual Soldier in the future and empower a broader use for military working dogs in operations,” Lee said.

“Zeteo Tech is excited to provide CAPS in response to a critical need for effective canine hearing protection in demanding environments,” said Michael McLoughlin, vice president of Zeteo Tech, Inc.

McLoughlin said Zeteo Tech is a Maryland-based small business founded in 2013 and dedicated to “developing and delivering solutions to address the health and welfare of the military and others who serve the nation.”

By U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs

Posted in Eyepro, Guest Post, K9 | 1 Comment »

National Guard Disrupts Cyberattacks Across US

Wednesday, November 20th, 2019

WASHINGTON — The National Guard is ready to mobilize its cyberdefenses in case of a potentially devastating domestic attack.

“When I first joined the National Guard, cyber was not part of our vocabulary, but certainly now it is one of our daily battlegrounds,” said Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel. “Our adversaries and non-state actors use cyber activity to target personnel, commercial and government infrastructure and the effects can be devastating.”

Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, talked about the Guard’s cybermissions and capabilities during a media roundtable on Nov. 5 at the Pentagon.

Lengyel said cyberattacks have occurred at both the federal and state levels.

Earlier this year, a number of school districts and agencies in Louisiana and Texas suffered ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid.

With the help of the Guard, schools opened on time and agencies were able to get back to work, Lengyel said.

“[Ransomware] is obviously a new and emerging kind of enterprise. We are able to access superb civilians and skill sets, and they can bring capabilities that the military sometimes does not have,” Lengyel noted.

In Texas, 22 counties were attacked with ransomware during June, disrupting local service, said Army Maj. Gen. Tracy R. Norris of the Texas National Guard.

Norris said Texas’ department of emergency management called the Guard, and officials assessed the attacks with a team of Guard soldiers and airmen.

“It was a joint team that went out to assess [the damage],” she said. “From there, they picked different places to go [in] the counties for the recovery process. We thought it was bad in the beginning, and it couldn’t have been much worse.”

“We already had a team in place and sent them out to assess, and we then aligned the team [based on] what the assessment showed,” Norris said.

Lengyel said the Illinois Guard is forming a cyber task force to assist the state of Illinois, as the need arises.

The Illinois task force will involve Guard soldiers and airmen performing cyber, information technology and other military functions.

Indiana recently started a cyber battalion, and personnel will be trained to military standards for use in a domestic response capacity if they need to be, Lengyel said.

“So, this will be part of the cyber mission force that will be part of the Army mission that, if needed, can be federalized and mobilized to do cyber activity for the U.S. Army or the U.S. Cyber Command,” Lengyel said. “And when they’re not mobilized, we can do our homeland mission.”

Lengyel said many of these Guard members have cyber-related civilian jobs. He said it’s an example of how the varied skill sets of Guard members contribute to national defense.

“They can do things working in national defense they can’t do in their civilian careers,” he said of Guard members.

Other attendees included vice director of domestic operations, National Guard Bureau; National Guard adjutant generals from Washington and Illinois; and the National Guard advisor to the commander of U.S. Cyber Command.

Story by Terri Moon Cronk, Defense.gov

Photos by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathon Alderman, Wyoming Air National Guard and U.S. Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Brendan Stephens, North Carolina National Guard

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