Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Massachusetts Guard Attends Planning Conference in Israel By Airman 1st Class Julia Ahaesy,
                102nd Intelligence Wing
 RAMLA, Israel - Members of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard, attended the National Guard Bureau-Home Front Command annual planning conference in Israel July 22-28. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brendan Simison, Plans and Engineering Division chief, and Chief Master Sgt. Michael Ulich, 102nd Communications Flight senior enlisted leader, met with HFC to continue developing their bilateral cyber partnership. HFC is Israel’s domestic response force, which augments local authorities to protect civilian populations during emergencies. The unit exists to save lives in search-and-rescue missions worldwide, according to the Israel Defense Forces website. The MANG has been working with HFC since 2017. The NGB and HFC partnership serves four functions, known as lines of activities (LOAs), in an emergency: civil support; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear; urban search and rescue; and cyber. The MANG leads NGB cyber efforts. As part of the MANG, the 253rd Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group’s stateside role is to provide all kinds of cyber support, from network computers to radios and satellite phones. In this partnership with Israel’s HFC, they provide cyber support to Israel’s Civil Support Team. “Cyber is the glue that enables all command and control functions of the various LOAs,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Joseph Morrissey, assistant adjutant general for Air, Massachusetts Air National Guard. “Given the HFC mission to communicate with civil authorities during emergencies, it is a natural fit for the MANG to partner with the HFC in this arena.” Simison and Ulich worked with their Israeli counterparts to share their experiences, knowledge and best practices to establish and maintain communications during major disasters. They discussed HFC command and control capabilities with HFC cyber representatives Lt. Col. Itay Zamir and civilian Levi Itach. Israel’s HFC is well known for its search and rescue mission, providing critical rapid response in emergencies to protect civilians, restore order and save lives. “My impression when we were there is that the Home Front Command and their response team is an elite team in the world and have deployed to many, many events,” said Ulich. HFC members recounted their experiences responding to several incidents, including the 2021 beachfront apartment building collapse in Miami and the earthquake in Turkey in February. Ulrich said the conference was a vital opportunity for the Guard and HFC to learn from each other. “They identified they have some handheld radio shortfalls that we could probably help out teaching the training we’ve received for our Joint Incident Site Communications Capability package here, bridging the different radios and networks together,” he said. Long-term objectives of the partnership include planning joint training for the next two years. The MANG will apply what they learned at the conference to the upcoming Cyber Yankee 24 exercise at Joint Base Cape Cod and other interactive training. “Those future training opportunities will help should there be an incident where we’re going to respond together,” said Simison. The MANG will also supplement in-person events with virtual meetings to keep the communication going. The 102IW was joined at the conference by participants from the U.S. Central Command, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, the NGB and Army National Guard units from Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and New York. HFC participants included its command and control, communications, computers and intelligence early warning teams; its CBRN, medical and physical preparedness teams; and its Agamim Branch. Israeli Brig. Gen. Liron Donnell, HFC chief of staff, also met with participants to speak about strategic and multidomain training opportunities, long-term objectives and her working guidance, according to Lt. Col. William Powers, NGB-HFC participant. “I can’t say enough about how hospitable they were to us,” said Ulich. “They were very cooperative, wanting to show us their capabilities and hear from us as well. I look forward to seeing what unfolds.”
 SHARE
 PRINT
  Massachusetts Air National Guard
 New York National Guard
 Illinois National Guard
 Missouri National Guard
 Indiana National Guard
 israel
 cybersecurity
 
 Vermont Airmen Test Agility During Multistate Exercise
 By Tech. Sgt. Richard Mekkri,
  104th Fighter Wing Conducts Readiness Exercise
 By Master Sgt. Lindsey Watson,
  National Guard Honors Fallen in Memorial Day Observances
 By Eric Durr and Lt. Col. Keith Hickox,
  More
 Finnish Air Force Commander Meets Virginia Guard Leaders4/12/2024South Carolina National Guard Airmen Return From Deployment4/12/2024Army, Air Force Team up to Load Helicopters at Shaw AFB4/11/2024 View more Guard News »
 US, Canadian Special Forces Forge Partnerships in Jamaica4/8/2024
Deployed Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Earn Their Combat Patch3/27/2024
Pennsylvania Guard Conducts Medical Cold-Load Training in Africa3/20/2024 View more Overseas Operations News »
 Maryland Guard, Bosnia and Herzegovina Conduct JTAC Training4/12/2024

Illinois Air Guard Supports Partner Poland4/10/2024

Wisconsin Guard Builds on Papua New Guinea Partnership4/4/2024 View more State Partnership Program News »
 Back-to-school tools for military families8/11/2015DoD sends blended military retirement proposal to Congress6/16/2015First employment symposium held for National Guard spouses5/11/2015 View more Family Programs News »
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil