DARPA Opens Up SDR Hackfest →
Outstanding news via DARPA's Outreach Coordinator, detailing the upcoming DARPA SDR Hackfest. The key acronym here is SDR, which represents Software Defined Radio. DARPA has published a Special Notice (DARPA-SN-17-40) on FBO.gov with information about the workshop/hackfest along with registration information. Enjoy
"Throughout May — as a buildup to a final event in November, the DARPA Bay Area Hackfest — Rondeau will continue his roadshow, which will include hyperlocal visits to small hacker and maker spaces as well as high-profile keynote addresses to the SDR community. On May 9, 10, 11, and 12, respectively, he will visit maker and hacker spaces in Niwot, Colorado; Vista, California; Austin, Texas; and Santa Clara, California." - via DARPA
The Porter
MEDITERRANEAN SEA (April 7, 2017) The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) conducts strike operations while in the Mediterranean Sea, April 7, 2017.
Porter, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ford Williams/Released)
Requiescat in Pace, Howard Schmidt
Howard Schmidt, Former Supervisory Special Agent, Director of Computer Crime and Information Warfare, AF OSI, Former CSO Microsoft Corporation, Former Chairman of White House Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, VP and CISO eBay Inc., Special Agent, United States Army CID (Reserves), Law Enforcement Officer Chandler Police Department Arizona.
May He Rest In Peace.
'He Is (As A Matter Of Course) Correct'
Michael Rogers ADM USN, Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of the United States Cyber Command sums up 'cyber' quite nicely, indeed:
"Cyber is an operational domain in which we do a variety of missions and functions, many of which are very traditional,” Adm. Rogers said. “We do reconnaissance, we do fires, we do maneuvers. The same things I was used to as a surface [warfare] officer … I’m constantly going back to that.”
"Don’t make this thing so specialized, so unique, so different that it just gets pushed to the side. That will sub-optimize our ability to execute cyber operations, and quite frankly it will minimize or at least negatively impact, in my view, the operational outcomes, which is the whole reason we’re doing this in the first place.”
The Five
and, then there were five....
CHATTANOOGA, Tennesee, United States of America - August 15, 2015) Battle crosses for fallen service members on stage during the memorial at McKenzie Arena at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. The memorial honored the four United States Marines and one United States Navy Sailor who died in the Navy Operational Support Center Chattanooga shooting July 16, 2015.
United States Navy Photograph by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Justin Wolpert
Read This
And perhaps note what similarities exist between and betwixt this young 2nd LT at the United States Military Academy recently branched to the Cyber Command and your career... Absolutely outstanding. Via The Cyber Defense Review.
Title: 'An Emotional Response to Being One of the First Cadets to Branch Cyber.'
Author: 2LT Daniel Brown
Date: Jun 11, 2015
I have been asked multiple times what my emotions were the night I learned that I would be branching cyber. The night was like any other branch night at West Point with all of the First Class cadets anxiously awaiting their fate as army officers. The only difference with this branch night as opposed to the previous decades of them was the inclusion of the new branch, Cyber, to the list of possibilities. I knew going into this night that there were roughly forty to fifty cadets that were competing for Army Cyber slots. All of us had put in work through a selection process known as the Cyber Leader Development Program in which our talents, experiences and skills were assessed by a mentor. I thought my chances were decent because I had put hours into my application packet and had done everything I had been asked to do. I knew I would branch either Army Signal or Army Cyber. My grandpa had been an officer in the Army Signal Corps so I had a historical connection to Army Signal, but my hope and dream was to branch Army Cyber.
As the night progressed we were finally given our envelopes with our branch inside and the first thing every firstie did was feel the envelope to figure out what branch they had gotten. I can say with complete honesty that I had no idea what mine was. We then waved the envelopes above our heads, as per tradition, and awaited the order to open our branches. When the order came I ripped open the envelope and confirmed my hopes and dreams. I had branched Army Cyber. The moment was surreal and was shared with several of my classmates. Cadet Ames Evans, a fellow cyber cadet, told me that he was ecstatic as well and that it was one of the greatest days of his life. Cadet Braxton Musgrove informed me he was happy, but was not incredibly surprised. This lack of surprise was an emotion that was shared by several cyber cadets who were confident in their abilities. This demonstrates one aspect of branching cyber that differentiates it from the other branches. Not only do cadets have to be sufficient in all three pillars, but even more importantly, prospective cyber soldiers have to possess a certain set of skills that separates them from their peers. To branch cyber means that you are a member of a profession. The hours and time it takes to become proficient in the skills necessary to be an effective cyber officer set cyber soldiers apart. It could be compared to learning several foreign languages, proficiently; learning to think analytically as well as logically work through incredibly complicated problems that utilize everything from cryptographic algorithms to complicated arithmetic equations. I knew that night that I was joining the ranks of such soldiers, and that was what made it one of the greatest nights of my life.
Statement by Rear Adm. Mary M. Jackson at the City of Chattanooga's Vigil
Story Number: NNS150718-01 Release Date: 7/18/2015 02:09:00 AM From the Navy Office of Information
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- A statement by Rear Adm. Mary M. Jackson, Commander, Navy Region South East, was given at the City of Chattanooga's vigil for the fallen Marines, July 17.
Good evening. It is with my deepest sympathies and personal sadness that I am here tonight.
I would like to thank the Chattanooga community for their overwhelming support of our Navy and Marine Corps family. We greatly appreciate the arrangements made here this evening with this vigil invitation and those who have gone out of their way to make us feel at home. We are honored to be part of this community. We continue to keep our thoughts and prayers with our fallen Marines and their families, and for our wounded Sailor and his family.
Today, a small team of counselors and chaplains arrived from around the Southeast Region to provide support for families and service members and we will continue to support our Navy and Marine Corps team alongside the community.
These incidents have had a profound impact on every one of us, regardless of whether we wear the uniform or not. But we stand together and find resilience in each other as we move ahead of these difficult times. We are Chattanooga strong!
Outstanding →
via the United States Navy, comes this image created by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Gerald Dudley Reynolds, capturing for perpetuity, a United States Naturalization Ceremony, while aboard the USS Midway Museum, in San Diego, California. Nearly fifty Marines and Sailors from twenty-two countries, as well as many civilians, were sworn in as United States Citizens on July 1st, 2015.
Cyberwarfare, Not Game of Thrones... →
United States Armed Forces Day 2015
via the United States Department of Defense - 'The History of Armed Forces Day':
On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense. Each of the military leagues and orders was asked to drop sponsorship of its specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day, too.
In a speech announcing the formation of the day, President Truman "praised the work of the military services at home and across the seas" and said, "it is vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace." In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Mr. Truman stated: "Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America's defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense".
United States Veteran's Day 2014
These are times that try mens souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the LOVE and THANKS of man and woman. - Thomas Paine, 1776