Col. Joshua Garrison, commander of the 960th Cyberspace Wing, 16th Air Force, said the Air Force Reserve will establish a new cyber operations squadron in January, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.
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What Will the New Cyber Ops Squadron Do?
According to Garrison, the 98th Cyberspace Operations Squadron, or COS, will focus on offensive cyber operations and will be headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio.
At the Alamo ACE conference, the colonel stated that the 98th COS will comprise approximately 50 personnel with skills in offensive cyber operations.
He noted that there is no “off-the-street” pipeline and that the new squadron will provide former active-duty cyber operators with an opportunity to support offensive cyber missions.
How Did the 98th Cyberspace Operations Squadron Come About?
Following the 16th Air Force’s call for a new offensive cyber force in 2023, the Air Force Reserve established a small detachment to serve as a test unit and conducted a 12-month trial to determine the unit’s structure, personnel, and proficiency and training requirements.
The Reserve proposed a formal package to turn the detachment into a permanent unit after achieving some milestones and secured approval for the proposal in the fall, leading to the activation of the 98th COS.
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