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Cyber teams defend missions during Exercise Mobility Guardian

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nathaniel Hudson
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill.— The 375th Mission Defense Team just completed the first Defensive Cyber Operations implementation for a simulated conflict during Air Mobility Command’s Exercise Mobility Guardian at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.

During the exercise, the team worked under real world condition to display how MDTs can be used under operational conditions.

“It was brass tacks,” explained Tech Sgt. Sydney Sullivan. “Working during a live mission involving an active network and live aircraft, it was the most realistic training possible.”

MDTs are a relatively new concept to the Air Force, and as cyber warfare becomes more and more important to the battlefield, these teams are displaying their importance to warfighting.

“These teams provided cyber reconnaissance, surveillance and conducted 18 hunt mission sorties,” said Chief Master Sgt. Lance Power, AMC A6 superintendent of network integration. “The MDT helped identify, locate and mitigate cyber attackers during the exercise, but most importantly assured mobility operations in a contested environment.”  

Exercise Mobility Guardian is AMC’s premier, large scale mobility exercise. Through robust training, Mobility Guardian is designed to build full spectrum readiness and develop Mobility Airmen to ensure the deliverance of rapid global mobility.

During the exercise, around 4,000 participants including total force Airmen, joint forces and international partners worked together to test the Air Force’s mobility readiness when conducting mobility operations.

The 375th MDT were responsible for defending over 150 devices from cyber attacks during the exercise and were responsible for coming up with countermeasures against cyber-attacks.

According to Sullivan, the team had to come up with creative solutions to threats in real time.

During their time at Mobility Guardian, the team showcased how on-the-spot cyber defense is critical to completing the mission.

In the future, training opportunities like this will help develop cyber Airmen to become more joint-minded and add to the strategic vision of mobility leaders.  

“Every mission includes a cyber component, and having chances like this provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate what we do and how it affects the mission,” said Staff Sgt. Mathew Evans, 375th CS MDT operator. “Exercises like this really show how important cyber defense is to a modern military.”