Story by Victor Aguirre, SOCSOUTH, Feb 16, 2021.

A young mother turned on the television to entertain her son with the United States Space Shuttle launch twenty years ago. The space launch created a great impression on the child that would influence him for many years.

“Today is special for a number of reasons, as Tech. Sgt. Narain will extend his commitment to our nation through his military service by accepting his reenlistment,” said Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH) Commander Rear. Adm. Keith Davids. “The uniqueness of this event resides in the service transfer to the newest U.S. Military Service, the United States Space Force (USSF).”

In a reenlistment ceremony at Special Operations Command South broadcast online, Rear Adm. Davids swore in Tech. Sgt. Krishan Narain, a Cyberspace Support Technician, into the Space Force, Feb. 5. Tech. Sgt. Narain is the first Special Operations Command South service member selected for an inter-service transfer into the Space Force.

Photo: In a reenlistment ceremony at Special Operations Command South broadcast online, Rear Adm. Davids swore in Tech. Sgt. Krishan Narain, a Cyberspace Support Technician, into the Space Force on Feb. 5. Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Victor Aguirre

“It is historic for this command as he becomes the first member of SOCSOUTH to dedicate his service to this new branch,” Davids said. “Tech. Sgt. Narain joins the estimated 2,200 service members currently executing initial Space Force operations.”

“I did not think I would ever have the chance to be this close to the space mission. I’ve worked a broad career, and while I knew I could be stationed somewhere that dealt with space, being in the USSF is historic itself,” said Narain. “My personal goal is to go work for the private sector in the space realm. The work they do with launching and recovering rockets looks so easy on TV, but the hard work and creativity to get there is what I enjoy.”

SOCSOUTH’s first airman turned guardian will continue his service at SOCSOUTH as the sole Space Force representative for the command. Tech. Sgt. Narain will explore the future roles and responsibilities Space Command may assume within the Special Operations community.

Inspired by an older cousin who joined the U.S. Air National Guard as a crew chief, Narain enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on May 4, 2010, originally intending to become an aircraft maintenance specialist. Narain’s recruiter convinced him to work with cyberspace-based systems instead as it is as critical as aerial weapon systems.

“Perhaps today reflects a bit of destiny as Tech. Sgt. Narain has been passionate about space since watching a shuttle launch on TV as a young child,” Davids said.

“I was so eager to apply that within a day’s announcement of applications being accepted, my paperwork was in routing,” Narain said. “Space is a big deal and I am intrigued by the vast complexity of it.”

Additionally, Tech. Sgt. Narain was selected for promotion to Master Sgt. and will lead as a senior noncommissioned officer (NCO) in the Space Force.

“Tech. Sgt. Narain has already been selected for promotion to Master Sgt. and he will lead our new Space Force as a senior NCO,” Davids said. “He will do so, bringing his many years of experience to bear that he gained from service in places like Afghanistan, Arizona, and Nevada.”

“Space is critical to national security. Everything from bank transactions to global positioning is done through Space-based systems. Our adversaries are gaining capabilities in every warfighting domain, and the Space Force gives us a competitive edge to stay in the fight in Space,” Narain said. “It boils down to providing capabilities anywhere on Earth, allowing our warfighters to protect national security interests. A prime example is when one of our USSF Organizations were able to alert an installation in Southwest Asia of an incoming missile attack saving hundreds of service members’ lives.”

Rear Adm. Davids thanked Narain for his current and continued service in the Armed Forces and his courage as Narain joins Space Force pioneers in developing a robust space presence and expanding this warfighting domain for the U.S.

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Author: This story was originally published on February 16, 2021 by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) and is in the public domain. The article is by Sgt. 1st Class Victor Aguirre, Special Operations Command South, entitled “First SOCSOUTH Airman becomes a Space Force Guardian”

By Sergeant Gregory Summers.

While aspects of daily operations have changed for 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) due to the COVID-19 threat, the level of readiness is one that cannot be affected. With creativity and technology, Cyber Operations Soldiers within the 5th SFG(A) continue training to maintain their readiness.

Efforts to maintain social distancing among Soldiers within 5th SFG(A) and continue training has challenged the cyber detachment’s leadership to think outside of the box. One idea on how to continue to train, is to use the Army Cyber Institute’s (ACI) upcoming All-Army CyberStakes Competition slated for April 24 – May 3, 2020, online.

“Participating in this competition allows us to sharpen our skill sets,” said a Sergeant 1st Class, who is the noncommissioned officer in charge of the cyber detachment. “This is the perfect substitute for us to train as we don’t have full access to the things we do have at work due to the social distancing.”

According to the Cyber Operations NCOIC, the “All-Army CyberStakes” is the premier individual, computer security, and skills competition of the DoD. The platform tests a diverse array of abilities, including forensics, cryptography, binary exploitation, reverse engineering, and web-based exploitation.

The competition is run annually in an online, jeopardy style, or capture-the-flag format. A new concept 5th SFG(A) Soldiers have yet to challenge.

“This will be our first time competing in this event, but we do similar things like this to bolster our skillsets regularly,” the NCOIC said.

Capture-the-flag is a format of computer security competitions that present competitors with authentic software flaws in a progressively difficult, challenge-based environment. Figuring out these flaws allows a competitor to recover a bit of secret information called a flag.

“Our goal is to capture the flag and find hidden items or ‘Easter eggs’ while doing an analysis of the system that ACI is providing,” the NCOIC said. “We are identifying key vulnerabilities while testing our individual skillsets.”

An example of a flag would be ACI{I_read_the_friendly_docs_4FF8}. The competitors use the code to hack in and “capture the flag”. No matter how you get the flag, you get the points. As in real life, there are often many ways to hack a challenge.

In a Jeopardy-style CTF, the challenges are organized by category with increasing point values for more complicated problems. The winner is the competitor with the most points, and ties are broken by first to solve.

“While competing, we can identify what we are good at and what we need to improve on,” the NCOIC said. “After this, we can focus on getting back to the books and basics to really hone in on perfecting our skills.

“I think most importantly, during this social distancing, we can stay united during this competition and continue to keep our Soldiers engaged and ready,” the NCOIC said.

The Cyber Stakes competition is free and is open to any federal government employee as well as all cadets in ROTC and attending the service academies.

All-Army CyberStakes
https://www.acictf.com/

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This story was first posted on DVIDS on April 17, 2020. Story by SGT Gregory Summers, Technical Information Support Company, 4th Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, KY.
“5th SFG(A) Cyber Detachment stays ready with virtual competition“.

The Helsinki Summit between President Trump and President Putin took place on Monday, July 16, 2018. The meeting between the leader of the United States and the leader of Russia followed the tumultuous Brussels Summit held just a few days prior at NATO headquarters. The two presidents met for two hours privately and then both participants spoke during a joint press conference. This was an occasion for the two leaders to discuss important issues such as Syria, Ukraine, Crimea, the Baltic States, cyber warfare, and more. But . . .

Trump’s Comments on Russian
Interference with 2016 Election

The biggest news coming out of the press conference that captured the attention of the press and political commentators was concerning the accusation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The topics of Crimea, Ukraine, cyber warfare, Syria, the Baltic States, Russian hybrid warfare, and others seemed to take a backseat.

President Trump said during the press conference (Monday, July 16, 2018) that he believes Putin’s statement that Russia did not meddle with the U.S. election. He says that he doubts the information provided to him by U.S. intelligence agencies.

“I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”

“I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this, I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

DNI Daniel Coats immediately issued a statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published shortly after the Helsinki news conference (Monday, July 16, 2018):

“The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers. We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security”.

Video of Joint Press Conference of Helsinki Summit, White House, July 16, 2018
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujCa6QZCirU

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In other news, the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs released (Monday, July 16, 2018) a notice that announced the arrest of a Russian national. She was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation and “. . . infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation”.

On Tuesday, July 17, 2018 President Trump, recognizing the damage done, attempted to walk back some of his comments.

“In a key sentence in my remarks I said the word ‘would’ instead of ‘wouldn’t’ . . . the sentence should have been, ‘I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.’ Sort of a double-negative.”

Just a double negative, move along, nothing to not see here . . .

Damage Control of Helsinki Summit

President Trump would like you to think that he is protecting our future elections from Russian meddling and he is standing up to Russia’s malign activities. He is doing a little ‘walking back’ of his bizarre and insulting comments made on Monday. Read a statement issued from the White House today (Tuesday, July 17, 2018).
www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-protecting-elections-standing-russias-malign-activities/

Positive Results of the Helsinki Summit

It will take some time for things to shake out on any positive outcomes on the meeting between Trump and Putin. The State Department and White House will surely be putting out some official news releases. Supporters of Trump (I am thinking Fox News) will certainly look for some ‘good news’ aspects of the summit and let us know about it. Watch the video below if you want the White House version on the results of the Helsinki meeting.

Video of President Trump discussing his visit to NATO, United Kingdom, and Helsinki, White House, July 17, 2018.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_g2IKzEqms

Closing Comment

It would be awesome if Trump got some movement with Russia on settling the Syrian conflict, applying pressure on North Korea on the denuclearization issue, lowering the temperature in eastern Europe, or on a host of other issues. Hopefully we will soon hear some good news from what has been widely regarded as a political and diplomatic misstep on the part of President Trump.

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Photo: Department of State photo depicting President Trump and President Putin a joint press conference immediately after the Helsinki Summit, July 16, 2018.

]]> 7127 https://sof.news/intelligence/intelligence-update-201611/ Sat, 19 Nov 2016 08:00:01 +0000 http://www.sof.news/?p=1335 Intelligence Update for November 2016 – News from around the world: events, activities, publications, conferences, new CIA director, National Intelligence University, UK buying Predators, “enhanced interrogation”, papers and more. Background checks in the future, drones, SIGINT and modern intelligence collection, [...]]]>

Intelligence Update for November 2016 – News from around the world: events, activities, publications, conferences, new CIA director, National Intelligence University, UK buying Predators, “enhanced interrogation”, papers and more. Background checks in the future, drones, SIGINT and modern intelligence collection, and more.

Background Check System Coming. The director of a new agency that manages the security clearance process says that a new computer system could be completed in 18 months. The next generation computer system will be used by the newly established National Background Investigation Bureau. Read more in “The Pentagon’s New Background Check System Won’t Be Ready for Nearly Two More Years”, Defense One, November 12, 2016.

Advanced Technology and CyberIntel. The cyberization of intelligence is providing significant benefits but also poses unique challenges. Read more in “Tinker, tailor, hacker, spy”, The Economist, November 12, 2016.

The Future of Drones. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is rapidly growing. Recent news reports indicate that the Islamic State and the Taliban are now using drones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Drones are used for intelligence gathering and for interdiction. Many observers are proclaiming a revolution in military warfare due to the rapidly expanding use of drones. But others say “Not So Much”. Read “Separating Fact from Fiction in the Debate over Drone Proliferation”, International Security, volume 1, issue 2, page 7-12.

National Intelligence University. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) runs a center for the academic study of intelligence that offers Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in intelligence studies. You must be a government employee or member of the military to apply. There are also various certificate programs in the intelligence field. http://ni-u.edu/wp/

New CIA Director? It appears that Representative Mike Pompeo (Kansas – R) will be the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is a West Point grad, Harvard Univeristy alumni, and a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Read more in a NBC News report (Nov 18, 2016).

Libya Intel Situation. Mark Pomerleau writes about Operation Odeyssy Lightning – the U.S. campaign against ISIS in Libya. U.S. Special Forces are on the ground working with ‘proxy forces’ and air strikes are conducted by drones and naval aviation. But what is the intelligence apparatus that the U.S. is relying on to identify targets for SOF and aviators? Read an informative article that reveals the intel support to the counter-ISIS effort in Libya in “What is the U.S. intelligence picture in Libya?”, C4ISRNET, November 14, 2016.

Bring Back “Enhanced” Interrogation? One backer of Trump – a former CIA officer – says the next president should go further than waterboarding terrorist suspects. Read “Trump Backer Pushes for New CIA “Enhanced Interrogation”, The Daily Beast, November 14, 2016.

Intel Agencies Struggle with New Missions and New Technology. “Intelligence services on both sides of the Atlantic have struggled to come to terms with new missions and new technology.”  In the Cold War espionage against the Soviet Union and its allied nations (communist bloc) was the primary threat. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and “Iron Curtain” counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency have attracted the most attention of the many U.S. spy agencies. The rapid advancement of computers technology and growth of the Internet has brought new opportunities and challenges to the intelligence community. Read “Shaken and Stirred”, The Economist, November 12, 2016.

UK Purchasing Drones. It appears that the United Kingdom will soon be buying up to 26 Predator drones and associated equipment. View a news release by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, November 16, 2016.

Some people are exempt (like Secretary’s of State) but Special Operations people still have to do Cyber Challenge Online Training . . . .

The military takes great pride in its ability to protect secrets. It has a robust computer E-mail system that works on its own Internet called the NIPRNET and a classified system called the SIPRNET. And there are other highly classified E-mail systems as well. In order to be able to get a log-on for these systems military members, DoD civilians, and DoD contractors must attend some security awareness classes and pass some computer security online training.

It appears that one such class presented to some military personnel was showing some creativity in the classroom presentation when they showed a picture of Hillary Clinton as an example of being an ‘Insider Threat’ because of her poor computer security skills and practices. Read more in “Army confirms: Training slide lists Hillary Clinton as an insider threat”, Washington Examiner, August 23, 2016.