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JBPHH hosts Cyberspace Mission Commander Training

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Terri Paden
  • 15th Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii --  Members of the cyberspace community gathered at the 535th Airlift Squadron Feb. 23-27 for a week-long training course on large force employment of defensive cyberspace capabilities.

The Cyberspace Mission Commander training course was developed by weapons officers at the 67th Cyberspace Wing to teach large force employment, roles and responsibilities of the mission commander, and integration of cyberspace forces identified in the Air Force Cyberspace Tasking Order. The result is a training program that teaches the United States Air Force Weapons School ME3C-mission planning process, as well as tactical defensive cyberspace integration and command and control through a dedicated mission commander.

"The process we're teaching was missing in the cyber community," said Capt D. Tyler Franklin, the chief of wing weapons and tactics at the 67th Cyberspace Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. "This course fills in those gaps by providing a foundation for tactical mission planning and advanced integration of multiple cyber weapon systems."

The week was divided into an academic phase and practical application phase. The first training day was focused on teaching the students the ME3C-(PC)2 mission planning process, the rest of the week focused on planning three specific missions in defense of the 613th Air Operations Center.

"We believe there is real value in this course," Franklin said. "When you go back to your organization you know what you need to know about defensive mission planning and you've been given an opportunity to practice applying it in a safe environment."

Franklin said the experience of planning three simulated missions gave students more confidence in the application of the mission planning principles.

"By the time they left here they had three missions under their belt and they saw that it's not difficult, it's not scary, and when you use it, it works," he said.

Franklin said after one week of training students are ready to go back to their units and hit the ground running.

"This course has greatly improved my ability to plan defensive cyber operations by giving me the tactical perspective necessary to create an executable plan," said Master Sgt. Alex Kuh, 613 AOC cyber operations planner. "As a mission commander, I feel confident in assuming the responsibility to lead the planning, coordination and execution of the mission."

The training is the first of its kind at a base in the Pacific, but Franklin said commanders are taking note of the benefits of bringing in the team to teach this course.

"What we've seen from the six courses we've had so far is that there is a night and day contrast to how things were done before and how they are executed now that we have more trained mission commanders in the units," Franklin said.