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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      A cyber technician kneels behind a high frequency whip antennaSenior Airman Icy Walley, 919th Special Operations Communications Squadron radio frequency technician, connects the antenna cable to a high-frequency whip antenna at Duke Field, Fla., Nov. 7, 2021. Cyber professionals like Walley use advanced technology to provide network capabilities in austere locations using satellite communications to support the warfighter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Michelle Gigante)
                
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        Cyber technicians sit at a desk next to communication network systemSenior Airman Kimberly Nelson, 919th Special Operations Communications Squadron radio frequency technician, and Master Sgt. Cole Watts, 919th SOCS cyber systems operations technician, configures a communications network system at Duke Field, Fla., Nov. 1, 2021. Airmen in the 919th SOCS continually train to maintain skills using video teleconferencing equipment, voice, data, video, and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance services. (U.S. Air Force photo by Michelle Gigante)
                
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        Cyber commandos set-up and align the angle of an antenna to a satelliteStaff Sgt. Brett Clayton, Senior Airman Jay Brown, and Senior Airman Jefferson Alvarez, 919th Special Operations Communications Squadron cyber commandos, set up and align the angle of an antenna to a satellite during training at Duke Field, Fla., Nov. 6, 2021. The Airmen continually train to hone their unique skills using a variety of platforms to include video, voice data, and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance services. (U.S. Air Force photo by Michelle Gigante)
                
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        A radio frequency technician configures a data satelliteSenior Airman Kimberly Nelson, 919th Special Operations Communications Squadron radio frequency technician, checks the configuration of a data satellite at Duke Field, Fla., Oct. 14, 2021. The satellite can provide high-speed data downloads for special operations missions and gives deployed commanders the ability to communicate around the globe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Michelle Gigante)
                
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Cyber commandos offer unique capability for joint forcePublished Dec. 28, 2021
                    
                    By Michelle Gigante
                    
                    
                    919th Special Operations Communications Squadron
            **DUKE FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) --**The ability to communicate freely and readily over a secure network is becoming more and more important for combatant commanders in today’s world as technology progresses.
To leverage this capability, the warfighter relies on cyber professionals like those at the **919th Special Operations Communications** Squadron to provide seamless communication and agile support in rapidly changing environments.
“This is the only communications squadron in the **Air Force Reserve** that directly supports special operations,” said Maj. Angela Shalduha, 919th SOCS commander.
There are two sides of the mission, Shalduha described—the base support provided to Duke Field day-in and day-out and the other side of supporting **Air Force Special Operations Command**.
Airmen in the 919th SOCS continually train to maintain skills using video teleconferencing equipment, voice, data, video, and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance services. For example, the cyber commandos use broadcast systems at exercises and deployments for downloading commercial and military satellite video feeds.
“Our Airmen continually deliver command and control capabilities at every request,” said Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Thoner, 919th SOCS special missions flight superintendent. “In order to meet this demand, our citizen Airmen have to coordinate time away from their civilian professions and personal lives to enable the success of exercises and contingency operations around the globe.”
The team conducts cross-utilization training to maintain strategic capabilities for contingency operations around the globe. In addition, the squadron uses a strategic approach to maintaining unit readiness by deploying equipment and people to support exercises for joint task force efforts throughout the year.
“The partnerships we’ve developed with other Guard, Reserve and active-duty units make it possible for us to train at locations around the world,” Thoner said.
Recently, 919th SOCS Airmen provided computer access, as well as phone lines and satellite radio networks to connect four geographically-separated command elements throughout a two-week Air Force exercise, ‘**Rally in the Rockies**.’
The multiday training exercise in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming involved scenarios designed to test the abilities of Air Force Reserve units to execute rapid global mobility missions in challenging, contested scenarios.
“In the past year, we have had members deliver this unique capability in support of 12 exercises across the country,” Thoner said. “Our support to these exercises as well as overseas contingency operations demonstrates 919th SOCS Airmen are always up to the task.”Our Airmen continually deliver command and control capabilities at every request.Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Thoner, 919th SOCS special missions flight superintendent
Many 919th SOCS members have volunteered for training opportunities across the country in the past year, and many are traditional Reservists who volunteer to enhance their individual readiness.
“It is always exciting when we go out to the field because it offers us an opportunity to try new things,” said Senior Airman Kimberly Nelson, 919th SOCS radio frequency technician. “In each case, we are not only enhancing our readiness skills but also building relationships and collaborating throughout the Air Force and even across the Department of Defense.”
Nelson has participated in more than ten different exercises around the United States in the last two years.
“We are always looking for more opportunities to support AFSOC missions and exercises,” Shalduha said. “There are a lot of unique missions in AFSOC, and we see the experiences our Airmen gain as invaluable steps to maintaining the same capabilities as our active-duty counterparts.”LR 



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