ARLINGTON, Va. – Many Army National Guard Soldiers may not know what GuardNet is, even though they may make use of it nearly every day. And for those who run it, that's perfectly fine.
"For the average Guard Soldier, GuardNet should be something they don't ever think about," said Army Lt. Col. Michael Riley, chief of the Regional Army National Guard Cyber Center. "All they need to know is that it’s always on and always there and allows them to do their operations."
In simple terms, said Riley, GuardNet is the computer network that provides Army Guard Soldiers with access to the Internet, allows them to connect with other databases and networks and gives leaders tools for training and mission planning and execution.
"It is the enterprise network that interlinks all 54 states, territories and the District of Columbia across the (Army) National Guard to give the chief of the National Guard Bureau a network that allows him to do command and control of forces," said Riley.
This year marks the 15-year anniversary of GuardNet, which began from humble beginnings.
"GuardNet was originally developed out of the Distance Education Program back in the 1990s," said Riley, adding that it was primarily used in Distance Learning classrooms in local armories allowing Soldiers the ability to access training courses online. It also provided a service for many in the communities that lived near those armories.
"GuardNet was grown out of the lack of Internet access in the local community," said Riley. "It was truly created as a dual-purpose environment where the local farmer in, for example, the state of Alabama who didn’t have Internet access was able to go to the local armory and get access to the Internet."
That early network was formally established as GuardNet in 2000 when it was included as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, said Riley. The network has grown considerably since then.
"It has grown into a very robust, secure system that makes sure that people get access to the things that they need," said Riley, noting that GuardNet spreads across 14 time zones and supports roughly 95,000 users.
For many in the Army Guard, GuardNet is an integral part to getting things done.
"GuardNEt provides the authentication, availability and provides the background authorization for people to access the resources they need to do their jobs," said Riley.
It’s also one of the behind-the-scenes tools that enables leaders to streamline the planning process and time to respond in times of emergency.
"During the South Carolina flooding a couple of weeks ago, GuardNet was brought to bear to help get the National Guard of South Carolina out on the street to protect people’s lives, to protect their property," said Riley. "If GuardNet didn’t exist, the process would have been a lot more challenging for the [adjutant general}."
Managing such a large-scale system also means that cyber-security is a high priority.
"Cyber-security is something we do day in and day out to ensure the people operating on the network have access to the resources they need at a moment's notice," said Riley.
GuardNet has remained compliant with all DoD mandates for cyber-security and has consistently received top ratings for its security effectiveness. Those who maintain and operate the system have the ability to quickly respond to cyber-threats.
"In a flood or hurricane environment, we have days or weeks to prepare for that environment," said Riley. "In the world of cyber, and cyber-security, the response needs to be immediate because the threat and the availability of it to propagate across the network is very, very quick."
Cyber threats aside, Riley said he sees continued growth of GuardNet.
"I think GuardNet will continue to develop as a joint environment," he said. "We’re already working to integrate the network into the joint regional security stacks. We’re working to get into the joint information environment, which is a DoD mandate."
And while GuardNet stands as a considerably larger and more robust network than it did when it was first laid out 15 years ago, it still provides Internet access for those in the local community.
"That availability is still there," said Riley. "We still allow for username and password [access] and we can issue a username and password on a limited basis to support mission partners, such as local police that are helping to respond in an emergency situation, or to the local farmer that needs Internet access or to the local community event that needs Internet access."
Even today, when Internet access is often only a smart phone away.
"As the Internet of today has grown and the bandwidth has increased down to the household, that requirement is slipping away, but it’s still available and it’s still a critical requirement we maintain," said Riley.