An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | April 26, 2017

Exercise Cyber Shield 2017 gets underway in Utah

By Maj. Ray McCulloch Texas Army National Guard

CAMP W.G. WILLIAMS, Utah — Exercise Cyber Shield 2017 got underway this week at this military facility.

The exercise is an Army National Guard defensive cyberspace operations exercise with approximately 800 members of the Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Army Reserve and representatives of state and federal government agencies, industry partners and academia taking part. The purpose of the exercise is to provide a collective training event to evaluate cyber operations and set the conditions for team validation.

During the exercise, members of the U.S. Army Reserve Command's 75th Training Command will support the command and control element, the training analyst cell and the assessments cell.

"We integrate subject-matter experts from other Army Reserve and National Guard units to provide assessments, command and control, and embedded observers to ultimately provide the [participating] units with a take-home packet so they can conduct training when they get home," said Col. John Zierdt, 75th Training Command, Gulf Division.

Cyber Shield is designed to train National Guard members from across the United States on cyber protection, network defense, forensic analysis, tactics, techniques and procedures defense against cyber attacks, hackers, or other criminals. The exercise is a culminating training event that supports the National Guard's defensive cyberspace operations missions to defend Department of Defense assets by conducting cyber command readiness inspections and critical infrastructure vulnerability assessments.

"We have over 40 states and two territories represented here and they plan their own training objectives and training plans based on the needs of their states," said Lt. Col. Henry Capello, exercise commander from Louisiana Army National Guard, during the final planning conference for the exercise in February. "This is an exercise by the Soldiers for the Soldiers."

Cyber Shield started small and has grown tremendously over the last four years under Capello's leadership and guidance, reflecting the importance of the cyber domain in today's rapidly changing environment. That importance extends beyond the Army to vital partnerships with state agencies and others.

"As time has evolved, we realized that we needed to focus on [non-military] networks," said Capello. "When a governor asks for help, we have to understand what [the problem] looks like. What do your state systems look like? What does your critical infrastructure look like?"

Capello said what makes Cyber Shield so important is that it gives the National Guard the ability to practice its plans so that if a major event such as 2005's Hurricane Katrina happens that could have repercussions in cyberspace and infrastructure, the U.S. government is not figuring out how to react for the first time as the event is taking place.

"We have an opportunity here to get ahead of the threat," Capello said.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Air Force dental technician completes a dental X-ray for a local resident during Operation Healthy Tennessee, Rhea County Middle School, Evensville, Tenn., July 10, 2025. Operation Healthy Tennessee provides no-cost medical, dental, vision and veterinary services to the residents of Bledsoe and Rhea County, as well as the surrounding areas while satisfying training requirements for active-duty, reserve and Air National Guard service members and units.
Operation Healthy Tennessee: Where Readiness Meets Relief
By Staff Sgt. Sarah Stalder Lundgren, | July 22, 2025
EVENSVILLE, Tenn. - More than 200 service members from the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Navy Reserve and U.S. Air Force Reserve participated in Operation Healthy Tennessee, part of the...

Soldiers from the Oregon Army National Guard's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) returned home July 19, 2025, following a successful year-long deployment to Kosovo as part of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission. The members were enthusiastically greeted by friends and family as they made their way into the Camp Withycombe gymnasium in Happy Valley, Oregon.
Oregon Guard Brigade Returns After Kosovo Deployment
By Maj. Wayne Clyne, | July 22, 2025
CLACKAMAS, Ore. - Soldiers from the Oregon Army National Guard's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, or IBCT, returned home July 19 after a successful year-long deployment to Kosovo as part of the NATO-led Kosovo Force...

U.S. Army Maj. Troy Dandrea, brigade chaplain, 17th Sustainment Brigade, prays over Soldiers in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Dec. 14, 2024.
Nevada Guard Brigade Returning From Middle East Deployment
By Sgt. Adrianne Lopez, | July 22, 2025
LAS VEGAS - After 10 months of conducting logistical operations across the Middle East, the Nevada Army National Guard’s 17th Sustainment Brigade is coming back home to the Silver State with its Task Force Warrior mission...