210408-F-FH087-0002
The 552nd Air Control Networks Squadron’s Mission Defense Team is comprised of cyber operators from a variety of different backgrounds, all contributing their unique skillsets to the team. When tasked for a cyber defense mission, a Mission Defense Team crew plans and briefs the mission before operating on E-3 or CRC cyber terrain, just like an aircrew. The 552nd ACNS has been the only Mission Defense Team in the Air Force to perform missions inside the skin of an aircraft, defending against adversaries in cyberspace. Senior Airman Gabriel Coleman, 552nd ACNS, describes the mission to Lt. Col. Akio Ohigashi and Capt. Shumpei Kawano from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and Capt. Ali Syed, Pacific Air Command A6, and Master Sgt. Christopher Bailey, PACAF A3. (Air Force photo by Kimberly Woodruff)