Photo By Steven Stover | FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. – Army National Guard Soldiers representing 23 U.S. states...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. – Army National Guard Soldiers representing 23 U.S. states and two ARNG cyber protection battalions finalized a seamless transition during a Task Force Echo transfer of authority ceremony hosted by Col. Benjamin Sangster, commander of the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade (Cyber), at the Capt. John E. Smathers U.S. Army Reserve Center, September 22.
The transfer of authority ceremony closely resembles a change of command ceremony. It allows a seamless transition of missions without degradation, recognizing the need to continue the mission’s critical purpose.
For the past year, 125th Cyber Protection Battalion (CPB) Soldiers on Task Force Echo (TFE) VII have worked with the 780th MI Brigade (Cyber) to conduct cyberspace operations in support of U.S. Cyber Command and the Cyber National Mission Force. 125th CPB Soldiers also supported Joint Forces Headquarters Cyber-Army to conduct Title 10 cyberspace operations in support of geographical Combatant Commands.
“A relatively young Major Sangster observed the first wave of these (TFE) Soldiers when the 780th Joint Mission Operations Center initially stood up the current infrastructure supporting the joint force,” said Col. Sangster. “Over the years, I have rotated in and out of the 780th, gaining exposure to multiple versions of that formation we refer to as Task Force Echo. Each one bringing its own flair and personality. Even with that uniqueness, there has always been a constant – regardless of the rotation number… Task Force Echo has always accomplished the mission.”
The TFE VII formation, primarily assigned to the 125th CPB, headquartered in South Carolina, is composed of ARNG Soldiers from California, Michigan, Ohio, and S.C., with additional Soldiers in the formation from Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia, and an Army Reservist. Lt. Col. Daniel Byrnside is the commander of the 125th CPB and TFE VII, and Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Larkin serves as the battalion senior enlisted leader.
“We come from a wide variety of technical backgrounds, we’ve used our unique talents over the course of this tour to drive forward the cyber infrastructure we supported, and I couldn’t thank these Soldiers enough for all the amazing work that they did,” said Byrnside. “Our success has been recognized at almost every of echelon in the Cyber Corps, specifically ARCYBER (Army Cyber Command), Marine Forces – Cyber, and U.S. Cyber Command.”
The TFE VIII formation, primarily assigned to the 126th CPB, is composed of ARNG from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, South Dakota, and Utah with additional Soldiers in the formation from Alaska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lt. Col. Karmin Ng is the commander of the 126th CPB and TFE VIII, and Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel P. Doherty serves as the battalion senior enlisted leader.
“The Task Force 126 Soldiers have sacrificed countless amounts of time to prepare for this mobilization,” said Lt. Col. Ng. “The Soldiers are trained, ready to assume the mission, and I look forward to seeing everything they accomplish over the next year.”
The 91st Cyber Brigade (Va.), the Army National Guard’s first and only cyber brigade, and its five subordinate CPBs have sourced the TFE mission since 2017 and each rotation consists of more than 100 ARNG Citizen Soldiers. Including mobilization and demobilization, TFE Rotations last for more than a year and each of TFE’s 60-plus work roles have a unique training pipeline to prepare them for their mission requirements.
The TFE mobilization is historic in that it marks the first ARNG task force mobilization of this size to support USCYBERCOM operations full time and is a testament to the Army’s commitment to the Total Force in defense of networks against the Nation’s adversaries.
These TFE Soldiers join Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve teammates from all the Services, who are already at work and on-mission supporting USCYBERCOM and the Joint Forces.
“Always Ready, Always There”
“Everywhere and Always…In the Fight!”
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2023 13:25 |
| Story ID: | 454071 |
| Location: | FORT MEADE, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 735 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Army Citizen Soldiers support cyber operations against our Nation’s adversaries, by Steven Stover, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
