16th AF Intelligence Squadron bridges training gaps through Digital University

  • Published
  • By Matthew McGovern
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii --  The constantly evolving world of cyber intelligence requires continuous improvement.

To fill cyber training gaps and ramp up coding and data science skills for 110 Airmen, the 792nd Intelligence Support Squadron leadership team turned to Digital University.

Digital University, a new low-cost Air Force training platform, allows the squadron’s Airmen who operate the Distributed Common Ground System to broaden their data science knowledge, and increase their coding skills with Python, a common DCGS programming language.

“Through Digital University we were able to develop a pipeline for training with milestones and quality checks that allowed us to build the skill set needed to advance and adapt to the mission,” said Lt. Col. Christina Decker, 792nd ISS commander.

Airmen assigned to Hickam’s DCGS produce valuable intelligence from field collected data from platforms such as: the U-2 Dragon Lady, RQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-9 Reaper and other ISR platforms.

“Digital University’s breadth of available content allowed 792nd ISS members to take mandated training from unit leadership while also offering an extensive catalog for members to choose relevant courses across necessary cyber topics at zero cost to the unit,” said Decker.  

The 792nd squadron, which falls under the 480th Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, uses DU training to better support the DCGS and all units under the wing.

As a result of the training, the 792nd Airmen were able to make “several automation scripts, visualization tools, and structure raw data so they can change data into visualized information faster,” she said. 

Digital University labs also allow Airmen to work on AI and machine learning based projects in a secure environment within the government cloud infrastructure.

Digital University’s design team lead Ron Stevens and his team are responsible for facilitating cyber training vital to cyber readiness across the force.

“We define our roadmap and discuss our features from the lens of how we can continue to make DU more engaging for airmen, how we can make the training more valuable for Airmen, and how we can ensure that DU is fully accessible to every Airmen who wants or needs access to it,” said Stevens.

Decker and her 792nd ISS team took advantage of these training platforms over the last 14-16 months.

This training “changed how the squadron’s mission is supported by providing increased cyber expertise, positively affecting unit operations,” said Decker.

Lt. Col. Hillery Anderson commands the 8th Intelligence Squadron, a unit that also contributes to the 480th ISRW mission.

Anderson noticed the success of the 792nd ISS and DU prompting collaboration with Decker and her coding team to pull out crucial elements of DCGS data, saving the 8th IS nearly 500-man hours each week.

“Operations in the 8th IS requires continuous improvements in automation for our analytic processes to meet the demands for support to joint targeting,” said Anderson.  “I approached Lt. Col. Decker with the idea to embed her coders and programmers with our Analysis and Exploitation Teams, leveraging their talents to enable faster tech development and ops integration for the DCGS mission.” 

The Air Force Distributed Common Ground System is operated by active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command personnel.

Air Force DCGS active-duty units are assigned to 16th Air Force (Air Combat Command), however Air Force DCGS employs a total force integration concept for expanded capacity, using both Air National Guard units assigned to their respective states.