USAFE A6 visits Team Mildenhall, Liberty Wing cyber professionals

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Cyber defense professionals from the 100th Communications Squadron, 48th Communications Squadron and 100th Air Refueling Wing mission partners, came together Feb. 16 at the RAF Mildenhall base theater, when U.S. Air Forces in Europe director of communications visited during a tour of USAFE bases in England.

Col. Nancy P. Reeves-Flores met with communications specialists, addressed the future of their career field and answered questions.

In her position as USAFE Air Staff A6, Reeves-Flores provides communications and information strategic direction, organization, training, and equips USAFE forces. Her duties also include ensuring the global forces have integrated, responsive and reliable command and control, intelligence, and combat communications support.

Reeves-Flores explained the phrase "Tail-to-Tooth," which describes the ratio of defense spending for support and maintenance, compared to spending on combat forces. Post-Cold War cuts in defense spending have come from the security "tooth," not the support "tail," which differs to during the height of the Cold War, when the security-to-support spending ratio was about equal.

"[Communications Airmen] forward-deploy to other locations in USAFE, to help support missions and operations," Reeves-Flores said, adding that now European Command and African Command A6s are now all one staff, working together.

In 2010, 48 percent of U.S. worldwide airlift moved through the theater; 82 percent of that airlift supported combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, she said.

"You can't do any part of the fight without cyber professionals supporting it," Reeves-Flores said, stressing that some form of communications is involved in almost every step as missions are supported non stop, all around the world.

The A6 visited RAF Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Croughton, RAF Alconbury, RAF Molesworth and RAF Menwith Hill over the course of four days.

"She came to meet with as many of our folks as possible, provide us with updates as to what is going on in 'Cyber,' and to put eyes on targets on any problem areas where we might need staff support," said Lt. Col. Gene Mattingly, 100th CS commander.

Reeves-Flores visited several 100th CS areas around base, and Mattingly said he proudly showed off his team, including the Best Large Postal Facility in the Air Force for 2011.

"We showcased our Cyber Defense Team workcenter, and I've been asked by her to brief that effort at the next A6 commanders' conference," said Mattingly. "We also highlighted our efforts in knowledge operations and the wing strategy effort to get 25 percent of our wing personnel SharePoint trained, throughout all squadrons in the 100th ARW.

"She really liked the idea of our teaming with the 100th Force Support Squadron, to train every incoming [First Term Airmen Center] class," he added. "The cyber surety workcenter highlighted their efforts to prepare for the upcoming Information Assurance Assessment Program visit, and showed off the great work they've been doing to keep us 'net-worthy' at RAF Mildenhall."

During the commander's call, Reeves-Flores discussed the future for communications cyber professionals, and the changes coming within USAFE and the Air Force.

"We're trying to determine what [communications] squadrons should look like, given all the cuts and changes going on," she said. "In the future, we may stop performing some functions we currently do, but start doing new ones instead."

RAF Mildenhall is tentatively scheduled for a $1.8 million technical control facility-modernization program installation later this year, and RAF Lakenheath is tentatively scheduled for a $1.9 million upgrade in 2013.