Commander Speaks on External Threats

In April, the chapter hosted a luncheon featuring guest speaker Lt. Col. Paul Williams, USAF, commander, 26th Network Operations Squadron (NOS). The event took place at Wynlakes Country Club and drew a full house of industry and military attendees. Col. Williams began his presentation by giving the audience a brief overview of the mission and purpose of the 26th NOS, stating that it is the single Air Force unit operating WANs and gateways, and the colonel referenced the more than 600 sites the 26th NOS currently operates. Col. Williams emphasized the importance of being proactive, as the 26th NOS is the outermost defense against external threats and the last line of defense in some cases for the roughly 840,000 warfighters supported. According to the colonel, it is critical to prioritize from a mission planning perspective and to communicate with other mission systems to understand how they depend on, interact with and rely on one another in order to continue their current average of blocking 2.5 billion threats weekly. These principles are vital to mission assurance; however, Col. Williams also mentioned the importance of bringing on intelligence operators with appropriate skill sets to further increase proactive practices. Col. Williams also touched on the reorganization within the command and control division of the Air Force and the standardization that now characterizes the 16 SIPR gateways. As a result of this standardization, Col. Williams says defensive ability has increased and thanks to quick maneuverable routing the service has a greater chance at avoiding effects of natural disasters, such as loss of network connectivity. The colonel predicts the rising generation of Air Force personnel will make much progress, to which he provided a metaphor, P15 to F-22, referencing the level of progress he predicts to come. Col. Williams' presentation was well received by audience members who actively participated in a following question and answer session. The chapter thanks the colonel for making time to speak at the event and looks forward to continued success with future luncheon presentations.

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