24th Air Force: Year 2011 in review

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott McNabb
  • 24th Air Force Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  As 2011 ends, it's an appropriate time to reflect on the stories and accomplishments of the 24th Air Force during the year.

There have been several major endeavors by the men and women who power Air Forces Cyber. Time and again, our people step up, shoulder the load and charge forward, leading the way for the Air Force, Defense Department and other agencies.

Gen. William Shelton, Air Force Space Command commander, visited our unit first after he took charge Jan. 5. During his Jan. 11 address (full story), he said making 24th Air Force his first stop was no accident.

The commander unveiled his top three AFSPC priorities: to support the joint fight, control the cost of space systems and to operationalize and normalize the cyber mission.

In February and March, cyber and space operators changed the landscape of Red Flag, the Air Force's premier combat flight exercise (full stories 1, 2 and 3). Cyber and space operators were a fully integrated part of the friendly forces "blue team" that defended the interests of the United States and her allies against the aggressors of the "red team" for the first time both at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and here at home station. The training and ability to flex our stuff with and against other Air Force operators was invaluable.

Initial results from the realistic combat training exercise indicated the blue team's cyber operators made it through early struggles to reach mission success and, in some cases, shut down various red team capabilities before they were employed.

February also saw 24th AF host the first senior enlisted summit (full story). Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Slater, 24th AF command chief, led the way for improved communication and information sharing with cyber enlisted leaders from our sister services.

And it was March when the first intermediate network warfare class (full story) graduated from the 39th Information Operations Squadron's school house. The 42-day course began Feb. 2 and features a syllabus geared to the needs of cyber operators in the field.

On the last day of March, the 39th IOS was at it again (full story) as 16 cyber Airmen graduated from the first intermediate network warfare training class. The 39th IOS developed the nine-week course to serve as initial qualification training for cyber defense operators.

The unit poured more than 23,000 man hours into standing up the course in just six months and added it to the rapidly maturing cyber defense operations training pipeline.

April was a time of change as Maj. Gen. (ret.) Richard Webber, our numbered air force's first commander, retired after an amazing 36 years of service to the Air Force and our nation (full story), and Maj. Gen. Suzanne Vautrinot took the helm of 24th Air Force (full story).

Profound sadness will also always be etched into our hearts and minds from this time last year because of the loss of Capt. Charles A. Ransom (full story), a cyberspace Airman assigned to the 83rd Network Operations Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va. He died April 27 at the Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan of wounds suffered from gunfire while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

In May, 67th Network Warfare Wing Airmen took part in the first-ever Cyber Nexus competition (full story). The force-on-force event was the first of its kind in that it brought together operators from the Air Force's four cyber disciplines -- network operations, defensive operations, offensive operations and electronic systems security assessments -- to compete as integrated teams.

In June, the 689th Combat Communication Wing welcomed a new commander (full story) and AFSPC recognized one senior NCO and four units with 2010 Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations Awards (full story).

July saw the 688th receive a new commander for the first time (full story) and six local high school students became the first prep school cyber summer hires (full story) that month.

In August, the 624th Operations Center alerted the entire service about malicious websites spoofing Air Force websites (full story) and warned Air Force network users to maintain vigilance before entering passwords into Air Force sites.

Artists with the Air Force Art Program visited (full story) to take photos and tour 24th AF so they can create paintings and other art designed to capture the history of all that is cyber in art that will hang in the Pentagon.

We turned two years old August 18 (full story), and before we celebrated, the commander talked about some of the many accomplishments of 24th AF and our way ahead in months and years to come.

In September, 24th AF Airmen joined Joint Base San Antonio in honoring Americans captured during wartime action and those still listed as missing during the 24-hour POW/MIA Vigil Run (full story).

In October, some of our deployed combat communication Airmen of the 689th CCW helped bridge the transition gap between U.S. forces and Iraqis (full story), and Army Gen. Keith Alexander, U.S. Cyber Command commander, visited 24th AF (full story) and some of our subordinate units here at Lackland.

November saw high honors go to a 689th NCO who received a Bronze Star medal for his actions during a recent deployment to Afghanistan (full story).

Last month also marked the presentation of accolades to one Air Force cyber unit and four members who earned AFSPC annual safety awards (full story) as recognition for outstanding contributions to mishap prevention.

This month, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Rhett Hernandez, Army Cyber Command commander, visited (full story) and toured 24th AF headquarters and some of our units in the local area, and General Shelton returned (full story) for an office call the next day.

The amazing athletes from American300 Warrior Tours visited 24th AF (full stories 1 and 2). As amputees, they showed us the importance of resiliency and never quitting.

"They showed individuals if you have a never-quit attitude, no matter what situation you're in, it's really not that bad. And, if you put your mind to it, you can overcome anything," said Senior Master Sgt. David Roberson, 24th AF Spectrum Management superintendent.

Our 24th AF family never quit in 2011, and that's something of which we can all be very proud. These are just the tip of the spear when we look back on a year of hard charging cyber operations. Let's stay safe over New Year's so we can all return to make 2012 even better.