The Coast Guard has a long history of dedication to mission excellence, and nowhere is that more evident than the strides we’ve been making in the newest battle space of cyber. A little over a year ago, the decision to establish a new enlisted rating to support Coast Guard cyber operations was made. As the Rating Force Master Chief for our service’s newest rating, Cyber Mission Specialist (CMS), I’ve had a front row seat in seeing and helping implement the new rating. This last year has gone by ridiculously fast with plenty of headway made in getting the CMS rating established. We have approved the first wave of 131 members from within Coast Guard Cyber Command for a change in rating from their legacy rating to CMS. We anticipate lateraling the 131 members to CMSs in June. The design for the CMS rating emblem was approved in February. We are drafting the requirements for the second phase of changes in rating, which will open the opportunity to the rest of the active duty members throughout the Coast Guard. And finally, we are developing the structure for CMS reservists to serve at several types of commands and units. In 2013 when CGCYBER was established, over half of the enlisted workforce supporting cyber operations began as four-year special assignment tours. Training personnel for the specialized work roles took up to 18 months, leaving little more than two years of work on the mission. After years of special assignment solicitations, the Coast Guard recognized the need for a dedicated enlisted career path catering to the unique work in the cyber terrain. With the CMS rating, the Coast Guard offers those members with the desire, passion and skills the opportunity to continue their careers operating in and defending cyberspace. Fortunately, the new CMS rating offers opportunities to active duty members to continue their service in the Reserve while continuing to hone their skills outside the Coast Guard in a capacity they choose. Reserve opportunities will be available within CGCYBER in the Washington, D.C., area, as well as working alongside their active duty counterparts supporting the sectors, districts, and areas as “Reserve Cyber Advisors.” Opportunities in the Washington, D.C., area include serving on the Reserve Cyber Protection Team, the 1941 CPT. The CPT is a deployable unit responsible for offering cybersecurity capabilities to partners in the Marine Transportation System by delivering the following core capabilities: • Assess: o Penetration testing. Determine susceptibility to a real-world incident by identifying weaknesses in security through internal or remote emulation of the tactics, techniques and procedures of cyber threat actors. o Configuration review. Analyze operating system and database settings and configurations compared to industry standards, guidelines and best practices. • Hunt. o Threat hunting. Information-driven operations to illuminate known or unknown adversaries on a network and determine the scope and purpose of the potential compromise. • Clear: o Incident response. Assist stakeholders with targeting, containing and clearing the malicious activity from cyber systems. Identify indicators of compromise to enhance security posture. • Harden: o Remediation of vulnerabilities. Recommended best practices for securing systems against future threats. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. The first wave of reserve change-in-rating packages will be selected in early Spring 2023. The training requirements for the reserve cyber advisor positions are in development, and we’re looking at training and certification opportunities for reservists through industry programs and military courses. As you can tell, we’re working hard and coordinating across the whole of Coast Guard Headquarters to make big moves in the cyber domain. This level of strategic change is happening at an incredible pace, but it’s necessary. The country’s protection, especially on the cyber front, is paramount. Over the years the Coast Guard technology has adapted from sail to steam to diesel and the workforce has been in lock step, adapting right along with it. It's an exciting time to be a part of this next stage in the Coast Guard’s history, securing yet another border—this time on the digital frontier. Semper Paratus. RESERVIST MAGAZINE DECKPLATE SOUNDINGS Master Chief Petty Officer Jon Weppler Cyber Mission Specialist Rating Force Master Chief "This level of strategic change is happening at an incredible pace, but it’s necessary. The country’s protection, especially on the cyber front, is paramount." Issue 1 • 2023 . ReseRvist 7
