First Senior Enlisted Panel Looks at Operations

A first-of-its-kind panel of senior enlisted service members focused on talking points from the operations side of the house during the chapter's April luncheon. Chief Master Sgt. Michelle Stavig, USAF, the panel moderator, opened the discussion with, "Let's get excited about cyber!" Giving pain to enemies is the goal, she said, then asking fellow panelists about their passions. Chief Master Sgt. Manuel Matute, USAF, explained that his focus is passing on knowledge to the next generation. Other panelists agreed, including Chief Master Sgt. Bryan Neumann, who said he was passionate about building teams of warfighting airmen. "We need airmen with a warfighting mindset to inflict pain on the adversary. That's why we wear this uniform ... to be in not-so-good places at not-so-good times," he said. The panel also discussed how the Air Force's mission defense teams and cyber protection teams are the primary maneuver force for Enterprise IT as a Service. When the "fixed force" becomes overwhelmed, these teams must quickly respond. The communications mindset has always been "We are ready!" But that has to change by operationalizing cyber, which can be done by focusing on the people, Sgt. Matute explained. The focus has been more on technology, yet people develop the technology, and people are the ones using it. "It's more than just some technological piece of malware," Sgt. Neumann said. Chief Master Sgt. Peter Franco, USAF, rounded out the panel discussion by saying that standardization can happen by synchronizing lessons learned. Communication between industry and all the services would then be better structured for moving forward, he said.

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