Cyber operators discuss future of training pipeline

Lt. Col. Daniel Schmitt, 336th Training Squadron commander, briefs attendees during the Cyber Summit at Stennis Hall Nov. 9, 2016, on Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. During the summit there were breakouts where groups discussed the 21st century training model. The three-day summit, hosted by the 81st Training Group, examined the future of the career field’s educational path in the Air Force to include training and workforce development. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue/Released)

Cyber operators discuss future of training pipeline

Lt. Col. Nathaniel Huston, 333rd Training Squadron commander, briefs attendees during the Cyber Summit at Stennis Hall Nov. 9, 2016, on Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. During the summit there were breakouts where groups discussed the 21st century training model. The three-day summit, hosted by the 81st Training Group, examined the future of the career field’s educational path in the Air Force to include training and workforce development. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue/Released)

Cyber operators discuss future of training pipeline

Jonathan Lechner, 336th Training Squadron training support flight chief, attends a breakout session during the Cyber Summit at Stennis Hall Nov. 9, 2016, on Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. During the summit there were breakouts where groups discussed the 21st century training model. The three-day summit, hosted by the 81st Training Group, examined the future of the career field’s educational path in the Air Force to include training and workforce development. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue/Released)

Cyber operators discuss future of training pipeline

Col. Michele Edmondson, 81st Training Wing commander, delivers opening remarks during the Cyber Summit at Stennis Hall Nov. 8, 2016, on Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The three-day summit, hosted by the 81st Training Group, discussed the future of the career field’s educational path in the Air Force to include training and workforce development. (U.S. Air Force photo by Richard Meuse/Released)

Cyber operators discuss future of training pipeline

Published Nov. 22, 2016
By Master Sgt. Tammie Moore
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Cyber operators from the 81st Training Wing hosted a Cyber Training Summit to discuss the future of the field’s educational path here Nov. 7-9.

“This Cyber Summit facilitated a discussion on the future of cyber to include training, education and workforce development,” said 1st Lt. Alanna Kots, 85th Engineering Installation Squadron project engineer and member of the summit’s planning team.

The event was driven by the desire of Gen. John E. Hyten, when he was Air Force Space Command commander, to create a more fluid cyber training model. Gen. Hyten is now the commander of U.S. Strategic Command.

“(The general) was looking at the way the Air Force currently does cyber training and in his estimation is too rigid when you compare it to industry and academia,” said Maj. Jorge Rativa, 333rd Training Squadron cyber course director and lead planner for the event. “He wanted to be able to leverage existing expertise in the civilian community and in the Air Force at large by creating a more modular and responsive cyber training model.”

This practice would no longer require entry level trainees with a specified level of knowledge to attend the entire training pipeline. They could simply be plugged into the areas they need to learn. The initiative would create a more flexible model for cyber training.

“As dynamic as the Air Force is, our training structures are not built for large-scale rapid change. We owe commanders in the field consistency and stability in the Airmen we send their way,” Rativa said. “This summit is an effort to initiate that large-scale change by getting us all on the same page so we can deliver our cyber operators to the Air Force faster and better than we do now.”

The Cyber Training Summit provided an opportunity for key stakeholders, including members of Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Secretary of the Air Force Chief Information Officer, Air Force Space Command, 24th Air Force and the 81st Training Wing, to discuss how to make the training pipeline more flexible and responsive to the Air Force and Department of Defense’s operational needs.

“Altogether, the Cyber Summit was a successful event,” Rativa said. “The feedback was extremely positive and those who attended stated they have a better understanding of the cyber environment and a better understanding of processes involved in training cyber forces.”

Group members left the summit with action items for completion across the continuity of training, including the Air Force Personnel Center assignments team, career field managers at HQ Air Force, AFPSC and more.