Photo By Staff Sgt. Alyssa Reik | Air National Guard (ANG) members, including members of the 179th Cyberspace Wing (CW),...... read more read more
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SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Air National Guard (ANG) members, including members of the ANG’s first Cyberspace Wing in the nation, The 179th Cyberspace Wing (CW), Mansfield, Ohio, participated in the ANG Cyber High Performance Training (HPT) in San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 12-17. This five-day training experience is designed specifically to enhance the team performance of our cyber operators and leaders hosted by a team of world class instructors from Liminal Collective in collaboration with the San Antonio Spurs organization, much of the event took place at the Spurs training facilities and a nearby ranch for an outdoors portion.
Liminal Collective goes beyond conventional learning, providing transformative experience that empowers a team to thrive in demanding environments using unconventional methods to enhance human performance and team optimization. The team of instructors for this event included; Dr. Andy Walshe, chief performance officer and globally recognized leader and expert in the field of elite human performance, Ben Potvin, chief creative officer and former Canadian national Gymnastics champion, and Jurgen Heitmann, chief operating officer and prior Special Operations officer.
The ANG Cyber HPT Program is an intensive training experience designed for advanced cyber operators and leaders, targeting performance optimization and “next-generation” capabilities for the modern Cyber Warrior. This program focuses on a more comprehensive holistic human performance program, rather than extending traditional skill based training.
“Liminal Collective is a tough thing to describe, the simple way of thinking about it is that we are fascinated as a community about human performance,” said Walshe. “We're really focused on the human performance world around the emerging state of becoming the next generation of who you are trying to be.”
Throughout this training, Airmen were able to share experiences and learnings with colleagues and with some of the world’s leading experts in human performance.
“My goal was to make sure that more people have opportunities in their career to shape the future, and this was just one of them,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Weiner, 278th Cyber Operations Squadron Commander with the 179th CW. “ I believe that if we give people an opportunity like this, they would be able to change their lives, and be able to contribute like I have in my career, and focus not on themselves, but the team.”
Using a proven modeling approach in conjunction with operator insights, physiological and
neurological insights, and a series of targeted educational human performance workshops,
this program offered a transformative approach to individual and team development.
“This course was really transformative, it did a great job at identifying your weaknesses, your own self awareness, and how to manage that weakness. They really doubled down on strengthening and supporting your team around you as well.” said Airman 1st Class Victoria Smith, Cyber Operations Software Developer at the 179th CW and participant in HPT.
As cyber warriors gain fluency in advanced training and development techniques, they actively contribute feedback to refine and evolve the performance model. By continuously adapting these inputs, the program builds a resilient, future-ready force capable of responding to dynamic cyber threats with agility and precision.
“I tried my best to talk to all the people involved, hearing everyone's different stories and backgrounds made me feel closer to them as a team,” said Master Sgt. Adam Porter, Cyber Warfare Operator at the 179th CW and participant in HPT. “There's definite value here, within the group that we had here, we are able to show our vulnerabilities. It's one of the most common bonds we all felt.”
Walshe stated that this program had a huge positive impact on this specific group of Airmen. He expressed that he hopes to spread the word to potentially make the same impact throughout more of the Air Force. Walshe said that this could potentially help them uncover not only their potential as humans, but improve their performance in their Air Force careers.
“When thinking about this specific group, they are extraordinarily high performers, and there are so many opportunities for them to improve their game,” said Walshe. “I think they came in with the understanding that it takes a really strong skill set to execute on the mission they’re given. What I saw very clearly from this group, was that they suddenly realized that there are so many more ways to bring their skills and performance up and point a more powerful tool at the problems they are facing.”
Participants engaged in leadership and communication training, teaming modules, high stakes
performance, and deep self-reflection to meet high-pressure demands and contribute to the success of the 179th Cyberspace Wing, Air National Guard, USCYBERCOM, and USAF.
The CEO of the San Antonio Spurs, RC Buford, supports both the efforts of Liminal Collective and the military and so generously offered to continue hosting the Air National Guard members in his facilities to train. Buford expressed the belief that those who receive training like this, take it back into their communities and improve those around them.
“We’re really interested in improving human performance across the Air Force,” Said Buford. “I really have seen how Andy’s vision aligns people from so many unique environments to learn together and I think that diversity of learning creates an incredibly unique atmosphere and also captures the imagination of so many different people. We were honored to be able to share time together, we hope that this is a unique opportunity for the ANG in a way that we can create a learning journey together in the future.”
| Date Taken: | 12.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.13.2024 11:00 |
| Story ID: | 487410 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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