(1)
Cadet Staff Sgt. Shanna Anderson, right, and Cadet Master Sgt. Josh Burton take a close look at a problem during the Medalist Flight round of the CyberPatriot II competition. Their team from the Arizona Wing’s Willie Composite Squadron is one of four teams from CAP squadrons competing Feb. 19 in the national finals in Orlando, Fla.
Photo by Cadet Airman 1st Class Cora Scholz
(2)
Two Willie Composite Squadron cyber defense team members, Cadet Master Sgt. Josh Burton and Cadet Staff Sgt. Shanna Anderson, take their turn at the keyboard while Cadet Master Sgt. Lynne Scholz, team captain, and Cadet Staff Sgt. Adam Graunke look on.
Photo by Cadet Airman 1st Class Cora Scholz
(3)
The Willie Composite Squadron cyber defense team consists of (standing, from left) Cadet Master Sgts. Josh Burton and Lynne Scholz, Cadet Staff Sgt. Shanna Anderson, Cadet Master Sgt. Daniel Haasch, Cadet Staff Sgt. Adam Graunke, Cadet Senior Airman Daniel Scholz and Cadet Master Sgt. Noah Burton. Team observers are (kneeling) Cadet Airmen 1st Class Robin Anderson, left, and Cora Scholz.
Photo by 2nd Lt. Jeff Alloway
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Cadet Maj. Zachary N. Baughman (left), cyber defense team captain for the North Carolina Wing’s Burlington Composite Squadron, and Cadet Airman Marico E. Bernal work to eradicate a malicious virus found within the Windows 2000 server operating system.
Photo by Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Jordan A. Andrews
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Members of the Burlington Composite Squadron cyber defense team are (first row, from left) 2nd Lts. Keith H. Caraway and E. Neal Gay, 1st Lts. Ruth O. Buslinger and Todd L. Lavinder (coach); (second row, from left), Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Jordan A. Andrews, Cadet Airmen David B. Peterson and Joshua S. Jordan, Cadet Maj. Zachary N. Baughman (team leader), Cadet Airman Marico E. Bernal and Cadet Maj. Will J. Buslinger.
Photo by Cadet Master Sgt. Jordan S. Crawford
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U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. David B. Warner, director of communications and information for Headquarters Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., observed the California Wing's Beach Cities Cadet Squadron 107 team as it participated in the Medalist Flight competition. Here he watches Cadet Tech. Sgt. Andrew Akers study a Linux issue on an iMac.
Photo by Lt. Col. Mark Williams
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With its mascot knight standing sentry, the Beach Cities Cadet Squadron 107 team sets up its CyberPatriot II war room at squadron headquarters, where practices are conducted by team members (from left) Cadet Senior Airman Joshua Grenier, Cadet 2nd Lt. Mark Lupfer, Cadet Tech. Sgt. Andrew Akers, Senior Member Mark Lupfer (coach), Cadet Airman William Fleury and Cadet Senior Airman Josiah Yamada.
Photo by Lt. Col. Mark Williams
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The New Hampshire Wing’s Seacoast Composite Squadron CyberPatriot II team – Cadet Airman 1st Class James C. Mackaman (left) and Cadet Airman Basic Trevor Bergeron.
Photo by Capt. Donald J. Norris
2nd Lt. Carey Cox
Public Affairs Officer
Burlington Composite Squadron
North Carolina Wing
Four Civil Air Patrol cyber defense teams are making final preparations for the Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot II Championships, set for Feb. 19 in Orlando, Fla., in conjunction with the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium.
CyberPatriot II is the largest national high school cyber defense competition ever held. It has included more than 200 high school Air Force Junior ROTC and CAP cadet teams from 41 states and Japan in simultaneous competition. Eight teams advanced to the all-expenses-paid championship round at the Rosen Shingle Creek Convention Center, just down the hall from AFA’s Air Warfare Technology Exposition, which annually showcases the latest in aerospace initiatives.
Cadets from the Burlington Composite Squadron, the North Carolina Wing’s second largest unit, advanced to the championship round from the Medalist Flight competition Nov. 21. The Burlington team members -- Cadet Majs. Zachary N. Baughman, team leader, and Will J. Buslinger; Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Jordan A. Andrews; and Cadet Airmen Marico E. Bernal, Joshua S. Jordan and David B. Peterson -- will be joined in Orlando by three other CAP Medalist Flight teams from:
- Beach Cities Cadet Squadron 107 of the California Wing.
- the Seacoast Composite Squadron of the New Hampshire Wing.
- Willie Composite Squadron 304 of the Arizona Wing.
The other teams competing in the finals come from F.W. Springstead High School in Spring Hill, Fla.; Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, N.Y.; Rome Free Academy in Rome, N.Y.; and Clearfield High School in Clearfield, Utah.
During the Medalist Flight competition, competitors had only six hours to find and correct vulnerabilities in a virtual network made possible by Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC). They were tracked and scored according to success and speed.
In the championship round, the cadets will compete in the most complicated series of live challenges yet, against a “Red Team” opponent that will actively counter their defense strategies using a commercial platform called CyberNEXS, donated by SAIC.
The competition benefits greatly from the active participation and advice of Dr. Greg White, director of the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS), who also created and conducts the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. White serves as a colonel in the Air Force Reserve in the field of cyber security.
“CyberPatriot II has been a tremendous success and an excellent learning opportunity,” said S. Sanford Schlitt, AFA’s vice chairman of the board for aerospace education. “As a career field, cyber defense is essential to our nation’s prosperity and national security.
“One of our primary missions at AFA is promoting education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and we’re so proud to spearhead this exciting educational program.”
The coach of the Beach Cities squadron’s cyber defense team, Senior Member Mark Lupfer, acknowledges the popularity of CyberPatriot II, particularly among Civil Air Patrol squadrons. “CAP has really grown throughout this year’s competition,” Lupfer said.
Last year, only one CAP team was in the final eight, compared with seven Air Force Junior ROTC teams. This year, CAP teams made up about one-quarter of the contestants to start but ended the competition as half of a 50-50 split.
The Beach Cities team carries a lot of momentum into the championship round. It received the highest score in the Medalist Flight competition and easily advanced to the finals.
Others, like cadets from the Willie Composite Squadron, say it isn’t just about the competition. “CyberPatriot taught us how to better secure our computers; we learned valuable skills, and came home smarter and wiser,” Cadet Master Sgt. Josh Burton said. “And we’ve had a lot of fun, too.”
The Willie squadron, headed by Cadet Master Sgt. Lynne Scholz, team leader, and coached by 2nd Lt. Jeff Alloway and Capt. Kenneth Conteen, is one of the largest teams in the finals. Seven cadets make up the team the team – Burton and Scholz; Cadet Master Sgts. Daniel Haasch and Noah Burton; Cadet Staff Sgts. Shanna Anderson and Adam Graunke; and Cadet Senior Airman Daniel Scholz.
Another CAP finalist, the Seacoast Composite Squadron, is fielding perhaps the smallest team — only two members, which makes its achievement all the more impressive. Teams competing in CyberPatriot II can have up to five players, with up to another five as alternates.
The Seacoast entry’s coach, Capt. Donald J. Norris, said Cadet Airman Basic Trevor Bergeron has been the team’s driving force, aided by Cadet Airman 1st Class James C. Mackaman.
Bergeron says this about the competition: “The best way to learn is to challenge yourself, and this is a great way to do that.”
