Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Staff Sgt. Jerry Conover conducts an intake inspection on an F-16 Fighting Falcon Feb. 10, 2014, on the flightline at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Intake inspections are completed before every flight to ensure an aircraft’s intake is clear of cracks and debris.Conover is a 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Viper Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Timothy Young)140210-F-UN704-168
                        
                        
                        Staff Sgt. Jerry Conover conducts an intake inspection on an F-16 Fighting Falcon Feb. 10, 2014, on the flightline at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Intake inspections are completed before every flight to ensure an aircraft’s intake is clear of cracks and debris.Conover is a 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Viper Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Timothy Young)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Maintainers counter cyber threats at Red Flag 14-1Published Feb. 18, 2014
                    
                    By Maj. Teresa Sullivan
                    
                    
                    99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
            **NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) --**For the first time, maintainers learn how to counter cyber threats on the flightline through innovation and adaptability during Red Flag 14-1 here. 
Maintainers are not only expected to keep their aircraft in the fight, but are also being tested on scenarios they may face while in a combat zone.
"What we've done is created what we call a contested, degraded or operationally limited environment, or CDO, for our maintainers, and it's designed to prepare our Airmen for what they may face in a major combat environment," said Maj. Christopher Vance, the 414th Combat Training Squadron maintenance division chief, and who's in charge of creating maintenance training scenarios. "This is a beta test for maintenance. CDO has never before been applied to maintenance during the exercise."
Red Flag leaders said they wanted to ensure Airmen on the flightline are able to problem-solve and respond to their environment if and when they are faced with a compromise in technology or cyber threats. Scenarios were devised to train maintainers in a similar format to Red Flag pilots. 
"Our maintainers are very innovative and come up with solutions to problems on their own all the time, but this has raised their awareness to a new level," said Lt. Col. Tony Lombardo, the 366th Air Expeditionary Wing maintenance group commander at Red Flag 14-1. "The good thing is our Airmen are aware of technology, and they're adaptable. It's amazing to see them embrace this challenge." 
Red Flag maintainers also receive academics on cyber vulnerabilities, information operations and other CDO-related threats. 
"Our Airmen want the feedback," Lombardo said. "At the end of the day, they want to know how they did against the scenario."
Instructors from the Air Force Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Operations School, the weapons school of maintenance, are also on scene to serve as observers and to document how the Airmen respond to the challenges given to them. Their mission is to take that information and create tactics, techniques and procedures, and recommend official Air Force doctrine on how maintenance will counter cyber vulnerabilities on into the future.
"This training is necessary for our maintainers," said Chief Master Sgt. Gerard Liburd, the 366th AEW senior maintenance superintendent at Red Flag 14-1. "This is a new Air Force, and we need to be prepared for all types of threats." 
"They have higher situational awareness," Liburd said about the maintainers. "If something looks out of place, they're all over it. If the computer doesn't work, they create a workaround. We're hoping our Airmen can take what they're learning here and incorporate it in to their training back home."maintainers 



red flag 



nellis afb 



Aircraft Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil