FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. — The Pennsylvania National Guard is strengthening its cyber defense posture through increased coordination across Army and Air Guard teams and deepening cooperation with its longtime Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program partner, Lithuania.
Established in 2011 under U.S. Army then-Lt. Col. Laura Pierce, the Pennsylvania Guard’s Defensive Cyber Operations Element, or DCOE, has grown from a small communications team focused on network support into a dual-mission organization that now supports both state and federal cybersecurity efforts, as well as national and international cyber exercises.
Today, the Pennsylvania Guard’s cyber force includes three complementary teams — the Defensive Cyber Operations Element and the Cyber Protection Team–Mission Element, both Army Guard units and the Air Guard’s 112th Cyber Operations Squadron. While each team has distinct training requirements and mission sets, together they function as a joint pool of cyber professionals. This structure allows the Pennsylvania Guard to rapidly respond to a range of cyber challenges, from defending the Department of War network to protecting critical infrastructure within the Commonwealth.
“Our structure gives us the flexibility to respond quickly, whether that’s supporting the National Guard network or helping a local agency recover from a cyberattack,” said U.S. Army Maj. Sean Smith, the incoming DCOE team chief.
The Pennsylvania Guard cyber elements have completed more than 60 cybersecurity assessments for state agencies, county and local organizations, school districts and critical infrastructure partners over the past decade, with 10 more scheduled for next year and nearly 70 on a growing waitlist. Soldiers also have been activated to assist during cyber incidents, including ransomware attacks on municipal networks and education centers.
“Sometimes we get to go back months later and see how much they’ve improved,” said U.S. Army Master Sgt. Brian Frantz, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the DCOE. “The growth and progress are really neat to see.”
For Frantz, those improvements are what make the missions so rewarding.
“Conducting vulnerability assessments and penetration tests within the state feels like giving back to the community,” he said. “A lot of the organizations are small and don’t have cyber teams, so our services help them understand what their network is and how to secure it.”
In addition to response and assessment missions, the teams also provide cyber hygiene training, develop and facilitate tabletop exercises and lead outreach events across Pennsylvania. Their “Wi-Fighter” initiative brings hands-on cyber competitions to schools, where students learn defensive techniques through capture-the-flag-style cyber challenges. The events have introduced hundreds of students to cyber defense and inspired some to pursue careers in the National Guard.
“It’s us reaching into the community proactively and trying to spread the gospel of cyber,” Smith said.
The Pennsylvania Guard’s cyber mission also extends across the Atlantic through its 32-year partnership with Lithuania, one of the longest-running pairings in the State Partnership Program. The State Partnership Program pairs Guard elements with partner nations worldwide for mutual training and subject matter expert exchanges. The Pennsylvania Guard and Lithuania have conducted more than 750 exchanges in areas from homeland defense to military readiness—and now cyber defense plays a key role.
For the past several years, the Pennsylvania Guard’s cyber elements have trained alongside their Lithuanian counterparts during annual exercises such as Amber Mist, Lithuania’s Baltic-region cyber exercise, and Cyber Shield, the National Guard’s largest defensive cyber exercise. Lithuania has hosted Pennsylvania Guard members for threat intelligence exchanges and training events, while Lithuanian cyber defenders have joined Pennsylvania Guard members at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania and other training sites in the U.S.
“We’ve gotten pretty close with their soldiers,” Smith said. “We stay in touch, we’ve trained with them and done training courses each time we’ve gone there.”
The Pennsylvania Guard cyber professionals also helped establish and continue to support Lithuania’s Regional Cyber Defense Center. Guard members assist with drafting cyber threat reports, share open-source intelligence and contribute to the center’s development of cybersecurity policy and best practices. Recently, Pennsylvania Guard members took part in the center’s annual board of directors meeting. Participants discussed ongoing cyber challenges and planned upcoming training opportunities.
“Participating in these exchanges with Lithuania is very mutually beneficial and exciting,” Frantz said. “The big thing we’ve learned is to focus on operational cybersecurity, while Lithuania has learned a lot from our approach to compliance and processes. Bringing those strengths together makes both of us stronger.”
The Pennsylvania National Guard continues to look ahead, working toward establishing a full-time state active duty cyber assessment team to enhance readiness for future cyber missions.
“I’m really excited to see how our team continues to grow,” Frantz said. “We’re bringing on new members, filling new positions, and developing specialists in areas where we used to just have generalists. That’s going to open up new mission opportunities for us in the future.”