Air National Guardsmen will have an increasing role in the cyber defense of the nation, top generals told Congress Tuesday.
The demand for the Air National Guard to aid in cybersecurity is so high that almost any new units are immediately being assigned to the mission, said Army Gen. Frank Grass, the chief of the National Guard Bureau.
"As soon as we can stand up an Air Guard unit, it's being used today," the general told the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense.
Acting ANG Director Maj. Gen. Brian Neal said that by starting in April, the Guard will have set up several dedicated cyber units to aid U.S. Cyber Command, and they will would have a "constant presence of Cyber Command contribution."
He also pointed to Washington state as an example of the Guard’s strength in having leveraging one of its strengths: civilian airmen.
"As you know, there’s a lot of tech companies out there and we have quite a few of those, including multi-millionaires, who are guardsmen doing the cyber defense of the nation," he said.
Neal said ANG is looking at how different units could more closely work together for both efficiency and budget savings, while working with partners and allies on joint -cyber training.
For example, Neal said that Maryland National Guard units are working together with the Estonian government on cyber exercises.
"It's really robust right now," Neal said. "Over in Estonia, they have the NATO cyber center of excellence, and they're actually talking about setting up a cyber center of excellence in Maryland, and we hope to export to other states."
"We are looking at not only combining facilities but combining operations," he said. "We're looking to combine functions, which by definition will combine people doing the same jobs into the same buildings.">>US active duty and ANG units is what he meant//OP
The Guard is also working more closely with the active component. Neal said that Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh is expected is set to announce soon that an ANG colonel will be commanding an active-duty wing.
