AFSC 1B4X1
Cyber Warfare
Awards
See also: Cyber Operations System Admin Awards
Meritorious service while serving as NCOIC, Intel Systems Cyber Defense, 1st Air and Space Communications Operations Squadron, 435th Air and Space Communications Group, 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, from XXXXXXXX to XXXXXXXX. During this period, Sergeant Riley A. Smart was one of only three Cyberspace defenders for the Air Force's Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS) and was critical to the stand-up of centrally managed cyberspace defense systems. In addition, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Air Force Surveillance, Intelligence and Reconnaissance Agency's Ports, Protocols, and Services Management program, eliminating three million cyberspace attack vectors and preserving critical operations. Further, Sergeant Smart established four Cyberspace Defense databases, centralizing 15 gigabytes of data and saving 80 hours of data processing monthly. Finally, Sergeant Smart's leadership and relentless attention to detail led to his recognition as the 2012 USAFE Information Dominance 1B4X1 NCO of the Year. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Master Sergeant Smart reflect great credit upon himself, the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing and the United States Air Force.
Outstanding achievement as Cyber Warfare Operator, 04 National Cyber Protection Team, 833d Cyberspace Operations Squadron, 688th Cyberspace Operations Group, 688th Cyberspace Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas from XXXXXXXX to XXXXXXXX. During this period, the professional skill, leadership, and ceaseless efforts of Technical Sergeant Carl S. Alabaster contributed to the effectiveness and success of defending the Air Force Information Network. At the tip of the 24th Air Forces' Spear, he enabled continuous Command and Control of operations by managing and sustaining 78 priority circuits around the clock and under austere conditions. His foresight, planning, and immediate responses mitigated 17 outages, assuring the continuous operation of 234 remotely piloted aircraft missions and leading to the capture of 23 high value targets. Additionally, Sergeant Alabaster organized a Network Operations cell which focused on the execution of over 2,000 missions, delivering timely full-spectrum effects to three COCOMs. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Technical Sergeant Alabaster reflect great credit upon himself, the 688th Cyberspace Wing, and the United States Air Force.
Meritorious service while serving as Cyber Warfare Operator, 315th Cyberspace Operations Squadron, 67th Cyberspace Wing, Fort Meade, Maryland from XXXXXXXX to XXXXXXXX. During this period, Technical Sergeant Samantha Stevens was essential to managing the threat analysis cell that defined indicators of adversary activity and drove intelligence collection priorities. Additionally, she led a Cyber National Mission Team exercise that provided realistic threat scenarios to posture Joint Teams for future success and culiminated in Combatant Commander recertification. Further, Sergeant Stevens demonstrated exceptional technical skill as she mastered the Department of Defense's toughest cyber training course that enabled the development and operation of a $1.5 billion weapon system to satisfy Presidential and Combatant Commander intelligence requirements. Finally, her expertise and leadership in cyberspace operations was essential during high priority missions where she led six Joint members to achieve national intelligence requirements for over 100 High Value Targets and enabled future operations on key targets. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Technical Sergeant Stevens reflect great credit upon herself, the 315th Cyberspace Operations Squadron and the United States Air Force.
Outstanding achievement as Team Lead and Cyber Warfare Officer assigned to the 833rd Cyberspace Operations Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas from XXXXXXXX to XXXXXXXX. During this period, the outstanding professional skill, leadership, and ceaseless efforts of Major Marky Mark Kinder resulted in major contributions to the effectiveness and success of worldwide Cyber National Mission Force operations. As a Cyber Warfare Officer, Major Kinder utilized his experience and expertise to maintain a $2.5M Defensive Cyberspace Operations (DCO) weapon system, facilitating 24/7 support during real-time operations in support of multiple joint service missions. In addition, Major Kinder was a member of the first cyber mission to produce kinetic effects, which disrupted and destroyed key enemy communication assets that were being used to disseminate propaganda among the local populace. Lastly, Major Kinder was instrumental in a DCO system rebuild, which restored the primary system and mitigated failures that had plagued the unit since its inception, saving the Department of Defense $3.5M in replacement costs. The distinctive accomplishments of Major Kinder reflect credit upon himself, the 567th Cyberspace Operations group, and the United States Air Force.
Technical Sergeant Wayne R. Mason distinguished himself by meritorious service while serving as Cyber Attack Operator, 390th Cyberspace Operations Squadron, 67th Cyberspace Operations Group, 67th Cyberspace Wing, Air Combat Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas from 12 September 2014 to 22 September 2018. During this period, the outstanding professional skill, leadership, and dedication of Sergeant Mason led to the completion of the nation's premier operator pipeline and mastering the advanced cyber certification, being one of only 29 Airmen certified Air Force wide. As an operator, he executed over 500 hours of operation on 310 targets and developed over 100 tactics, techniques, and procedures supporting approximately 350 joint warfighters, NATO, and other agencies such as CIA, DIA, FBI, and NSA. Additionally, Sergeant Mason stood up the Unit Deployment Manager position, managing 54 training records for 92 Airmen. His contributions lead to the squadron's overall "Highly Effective" rating during the Wing IG inspection and enabled the deployment of seven Airmen supporting over 1,000 missions for OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE. Finally, Sergeant Mason led a flight of 14 Airmen during the 401 Combat Mission Team push to reach fully Operational Capable status and exceeded the congressional mandate by 11 months. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Mason reflect great credit upon himself, the 390th Cyberspace Operations Squadron and the United States Air Force.
Technical Sergeant Ronnie L. Boscarino distinguished himself by meritorious service while serving as Senior Cyberspace Warfare Operator, 836th Cyberspace Operations Squadron, 567th Cyberspace Operations Group, 67th Cyberspace Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. During this period, Sergeant Boscarino operated the Cyber Vulnerability Assessment and Hunter weapon system in support of nine Cyber National Mission Force operations. His efforts helped his team reach Full Operational Capability when he was selected from among 120 operators to serve as an instructor and obtain his evaluator designation, training over thirty operators and certifying ten additional instructors. In addition, Sergeant Boscarino authored a network visualization framework training course that was taught to 155 members, reducing deployment transition time by sixty percent. Moreover, he led the deployment of the Cyber Vulnerability Assessment and Hunter weapon system in three days, successfully executing multi-national cyber operations with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and federal law enforcement partners. Finally, Sergeant Boscarino partnered with federal law enforcement agencies and led a team of ten operators to analyze malicious network traffic and identify five threat sources which led to the elimination of the enemy's Command and Control on allied cyberspace systems. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Boscarino reflect credit upon himself, the 836th Cyberspace Operations Squadron and the United States Air Force.
Master Sergeant Patrick C. Gates distinguished himself in the performance of outstanding service to the United States as Flight Chief, 402 Cyber Mission Team, 75th Intelligence Squadron, 659th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, Joint Base San Antonio Lackland, Texas from 20 August 2013 to 25 November 2017. During this period, Sergeant Gates' exceptional leadership and analytic expertise were critical to advancing the nation's premier cyber mission team's warfighting capability. He expertly piloted his cyber team towards national-level mission validation from cradle-to-grave, presenting the Air Force's first cyber mission force to Combatant Commanders for immediate tasking. Additionally, Sergeant Gates led Red Flag 17-1 as White Cell lead, steering the team's target development and employment of cyber tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) against simulated adversaries, which received high praise from Senior Executive Branch leaders. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Gates reflect great credit upon himself, the 75th Intelligence Squadron and the United Sates Air Force.