Hometown: Charlottesville, Va.
Military Occupational Specialty: Cyber Operations Officer (MOS 17A)
Unit: Assigned to the 186 Cyber Protection Team, U.S. Army Reserve, Coraopolis, Penn., and currently serving on an active duty tour with the Army Cyber Protection Brigade
Duty title (while on active duty tour): Team Lead
Civilian employer: University of Virginia Facilities Management
(NOTE: Rank and position are correct as of time of interview)

QUICK SKETCH:
-- Civilian occupation is as system administrator for the University of Virginia's Facilities Management, focused on secure administration of active directory, centralized configuration management and "numerous boutique applications"
-- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) with three Global Information Assurance Certifications (GIAC), serving on the University of Virginia Security Advisory Board
-- Deployed to Afghanistan as a company commander in a Expeditionary Signal Battalion, with Soldiers and equipment supporting everything from theater missile defense to the NATO service desk
-- Achieved "Hacker" status on the Hack The Box online cybersecurity training platform
-- Loves cyber "capture the flag" competitions such as the SysAdmin, Audit, Network and Security (SANS) Institute's NetWars and the Army Cyber Stakes
-- Has earned a bachelor's degree in Government from the College of William and Mary

ON WHAT HE LIKES ABOUT BEING PART OF THE ARMY CYBER TEAM:
"I am in awe of the technical talent here. Everyone is extremely smart and analytical. Coming from the Signal branch, I have always been focused on units' ability to communicate securely and reliably on the battlefield. Transitioning to Cyber has been a natural progression, and it is rewarding to keep these same networks defended."

ON HOW, AS AN ARMY RESERVE SOLDIER, HE FEELS HIS CIVILIAN JOBS SKILLS, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE HELP ENHANCE THE ARMY CYBER MISSION:
"My civilian experience is oriented around secure system administration for a wide variety of stakeholders and business units. I can relate to both network owners and supported commanders who may be working with Cyber professionals for the first time, who may be unsure what to expect. Likewise, I have technical experience that has been invaluable (for) understanding what our analysts see and find, then translating that information into the solutions that our mission owners need."

ON WHAT HE HAS FOUND TO BE FULFILLING AND CHALLENGING DURING HIS ACTIVE TOUR WITH ARMY CYBER:
"I enjoy working with the active component here at Fort Gordon in an environment where I can continue to grow as an Army officer. Each mission set does bring new challenges -- many not faced before by the Cyber branch -- but I have been amazed at the resiliency and tenacity of the Soldiers on my team."’

ON WHATS HE WOULD SAY TO OTHERS – PARTICULARY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ARMY RESERVE -- WHO ARE CONSIDERING AN ACTIVE DUTY TOUR WITH ARMY CYBER:
"As Army reservists, we are always eligible to deploy in support of the Army's mission. Having done it both ways, stateside mobilizations to Fort Gordon are a great option to put in active duty ttime. As an (Information Technology) professional, learning from the (chief warrant officers) in particular -- active and reserve -- has been like attending a one-year clinic in how to assess networks and hunt down threats. A good use of time."

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ABOUT US: United States Army Cyber Command directs and conducts integrated electronic warfare, information and cyberspace operations as authorized, or directed, to ensure freedom of action in and through cyberspace and the information environment, and to deny the same to our adversaries.

Interested in the challenge of joining the Army Cyber team? Check out military and civilian cyber career and employment opportunities by clicking on the "Careers" tab at www.arcyber.army.mil

ARCYBER on the web: https://www.arcyber.army.mil
ARCYBER on Twitter: https://twitter.com/arcyber
ARCYBER on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/us-army-cyber-command
Army.mil cyber page: https://www.army.mil/armycyber

Members of the Army Reserve and Army National Guard in the Signal, Cyber, Military Intelligence, Information Operations, Electronic Warfare, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations fields interested in tours with Army Cyber Command can get more information at https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Careers/Reserve-Component-Tours-with-Army-Cyber/