39th Information Operations Squadron<\/a>, which provides airmen initial qualification training for defensive weapon systems before they join cyber protection teams, have worked with the Navy as it finalizes those joint standards. The schoolhouse at the 39th IOS is in the beginning stages of migrating to PCTE, inputting modules from the operational force, lab assignments and even practice ranges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe sooner everyone gets on board and moving in that direction is the sooner that we\u2019ll start seeing the benefits from\u201d PCTE, Lt. Col. Jonathan Williams, commander of the 39th IOS, told C4ISRNET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, training of defensive cyber warriors won\u2019t change a whole lot given they have always used online tools and ranges in the classroom, officials said. What does change with the inclusion of PCTE in the schoolhouse is the variety and complexity of the training ranges, said Capt. Jerrelle Marshall, chief of weapons and tactics at the 39th IOS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHaving a common set of training goals across the services provides a better opportunity for inter-changeability on cyber missions for the joint cyber operations force,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials said using PCTE will create a more ready force \u2014 from better training at the schoolhouse level to more realistic and on-demand training for operational forces \u2014 all to a greater benefit to taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom the budget perspective, [uploading operational lessons for students] saves us a heck of a lot of time and money and makes us much better stewards of your taxpayer dollars,\u201d Runyan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because training is conducted in the same environment at the schoolhouse and in operational units, there are resource efficiencies gained from standardization, simplification and automation of the training management processes, Marshall said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInstead of reinventing the wheel each time the field requests new training requirements, the schoolhouse has a direct link to entire communities\u2019 worth of lessons learned and best practices, significantly shortening the timeline to go from need to implementation,\u201d he said. \u201cThis link also enables tremendous cost savings to the joint community as we scale down the number of fielded independently operated and managed cyber training ranges to a consolidated model.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tool comes with a variety of additional benefits. It allows students to rerun practicals or replay scenarios they might have struggled on. They can get hands-on experience with the real tools and environments they\u2019ll encounter in operations against actual threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials hope that experience will help the Air Force students, who at this level are focused heavily on individual training, more ready to integrate with their units and conduct mission qualification training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy personal opinion is that\u2019s going to pay off in spades at the unit level at the mission qual [qualification] training, at the exercises and upgrade team certification for our CPTs out in the field,\u201d said Skip Runyan, a tech adviser at the 39th IOS. \u201cThe possibilities that PCTE brings to the fight are enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This approach differs from traditional training for the broader military, which has limited training times and ranges because people have to practice on the tanks, fighter jets or other equipment they use in missions. What\u2019s more, while the military does its best to replicate threats, it can only go so far. In cyberspace, these units can play against actual strains of malware or networks seen in operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re using the fighter analogy, they\u2019ve got the ability to hop in the F-15 cockpit and do some training when there is a need to do that training. [Airmen] don\u2019t have to schedule themselves for training sorties. The training will always be available,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the true power with this new environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professors\u2019 workload is lightened because PCTE grades students\u2019 lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe grading aspect takes up a lot of time for the instructors, and if we have the ability to not only grade them with a little bit of the automation built into PCTE but also do some replays from what they\u2019re doing in there, we can actually show them where they went wrong or where they went right in the system,\u201d Runyan said. \u201cThat saves a lot of time and effort on the part of the instructor and saves a lot of frustration on the part of the student.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marshall explained that instead of instructors spending time thinking up how ranges should be configured, they can now focus their efforts on developing threat-representative scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\t