Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas -- The 960th Cyberspace Operations Group, Det 1 is a newly established Reserve Classic Associate Unit to the 26th Network Operations Squadron at Maxwell Air Force Base–Gunter Annex in Montgomery, Ala.
Formally activated during a ceremony held on March 23 at the 960th CyOG Headquarters on Joint Base San Antonio-Medina Annex, Texas, Det 1 joins the 26th NOS in the employment of the Air Force Intranet Control cyber weapon system.
This total force integrated team provides persistent network operations, active and passive cyberspace defense, mission assurance, and situational awareness capabilities in their Department of Defense Information Network Ops and defensive cyber operations roles as directed by 24th Air Force to achieve cyberspace superiority for assigned missions.
Together, we are the only team in the Air Force responsible for maintaining, operating, and defending the 16 Air Force network gateways and long-haul communication circuits for secure and non-secure networks, commonly called the NIPRNet and SIPRNet.
To accomplish this mission, Det 1 will be hiring 18 Air Reserve Technician personnel and 110 traditional reservists.
The integration of Det 1 personnel into the 26th NOS mission will provide capacity to support both steady-state and increased operations.
Det 1 personnel will augment the active duty component resources, which are unable to support expected contingency and warfighting requirements. Additionally, active component personnel will benefit from reservists’ expertise and industry experience.
Although Det 1 is still in its infancy, significant progress has been made in establishing relationships with the 26th NOS and our local Reserve Support Wing, the 908th Airlift Wing.
Both the 26th NOS and 908th AW have been amazing hosts, providing workspaces and helping to establish administrative processes and procedures.
There is still a long road ahead, but all parties involved are excited about the establishment of the CAU, and building a strong total force integrated team.
This is a great opportunity to move the AFINC mission to the next level and build the best association ever seen between two cyber units!