Richmond, Virginia –
RICHMOND, Va. — Five members of the Virginia Defense Force’s new Cyber Detachment were sworn in as warrant officers Feb. 1, 2020, in Richmond, Virginia.
“I can’t tell you how important this is that you gentlemen have stepped up into this very critical position,” said Col. (Va.) David James, VDF chief of staff. “Your knowledge, skills and abilities will provide us with capabilities to help better secure the commonwealth.”
James also thanked the family members present for their support.
The mission of the VDF Cyber Detachment is to provide computer network defense support when requested by the Virginia National Guard and conduct network vulnerability assessments.
“These new warrant officers all have the skills and talents we are looking for in the VDF Cyber Detachment,” said Lt. Col. (Va.) Jim Crawford, commander of the detachment. “We are very proud and fortunate to have these individuals join us and I thank each of you for stepping up and volunteering to be of service to the commonwealth.”
The VDF direct appointment program mirrors the U.S. Army’s program that allows individuals with specific, highly specialized, cyber-related skills and education to be directly appointed as a warrant officers in the VDF.
There are currently 11 personnel in the Cyber Detachment. All have bachelors degrees and there are 12 graduate degrees among them, including a PhD, four MBAs, five MSAs, one Masters in Engineering and one graduate certificate. Four of the members are prior military, one is prior law enforcement and one is retired military.
They also possess a long list of professional information technology certificates as well including Certified Information Systems Security Professional, GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst, Systems Security Certified Practitioner, Security +, Linux + and Cipher Trace Certified Cryptocurrency Investigator.
For information about the VDF Cyber Detachment, please email
cyber@vdf.virginia.gov.
For information about joining the Virginia Defense Force, please visit
http://vdf.virginia.gov/joinvdf/.