Wired up, Fired up

Published Dec. 1, 2014
By Capt. Jeff M. Nagan
5th Communication Squadron

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Jets may run on fuel, but most of the Air Force runs on cyber-data flowing through a labyrinth of cables and switches, connecting hundreds of users at near the speed of light.

The 132 Airmen and civilians that make up the 5th Communications Squadron encompass nine separate career fields. They set up and maintain radio, telephone, network, and computer systems and ensure the safety and security of those systems and the information they carry.

"The cyber component is critical to nearly every action in today's Air Force," said Lt. Col. Gino Sarcomo, commander, 5th CS. "Cyber operators work countless hours to ensure uninterrupted service for the more than 7,000 customers at Minot Air Force Base."

In addition to the 5th Bomb Wing, the 5th CS serves the 91st Missile Wing, which includes 15 missile alert facilities and 150 launch facilities scattered throughout more than 8,500 square miles of North Dakota. The facilities must be supported even in the harshest winters.

"We have a dedicated team that understands the importance of their mission," Sarcomo said, a Highlands, New Jersey native. "From B-52 operations to the missile mission, our Airmen play a critical role in ensuring the defense of our nation."

The mission of 5th CS is outlined as "American Airmen delivering secure, full-spectrum communication capabilities to the 5th BW and 91st MW, enabling safe, secure and reliable execution of Minot's strategic, conventional and deployed missions."

"The comm squadron is a customer service driven organization," Sarcomo said. "We strive to meet the demands of our high ops tempo nuclear mission."

Technology is always improving, but the infrastructure cannot always keep up, said Tech. Sgt. Marshall G. Anderson, NCO in charge of the voice and cable systems work center, 5th CS. Until recently, much of the telecommunications infrastructure at Minot has been unnoticed. Therefore, regardless of the job, each member of the 15 shops within the squadron must seek creative solutions to keep the base connected.

"It boils down to being flexible and thinking on our feet and making do with the equipment and materials we have," Anderson said, who hails from Georgia.

Cyber operations never stop, and the Airmen work day and night to ensure mission success, Anderson said. When they are not troubleshooting an issue or modernizing antiquated technologies, 5th CS Airmen are training, which is a major part of their mission.

"I don't really see the mission stopping, ever," Anderson said. "If something mission critical goes down, we don't stop until it comes back up or, at the very least, functional."

The sheer number of awards the 5th CS has earned in just this last year is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of the squadron's Airmen and civilian team, Sarcomo added.

Members of the squadron bested four other wings within Air Force Global Strike Command, earning a staggering 12 of 27 Information Dominance Awards for 2013. Also, the 5th CS earned the Information Assurance Assessment and Assistance Program award, lauded as the "best of more than 100 bases" for having zero incidents.

During the 2013 Command Cyber Readiness Inspection, the squadron earned an excellent rating for both the nonsecure and secure (IP) network, which inspectors noted as the "best SIPR vulnerability scan results in the history of AF CCRI."

"Many people may take the hundreds of hours our Airmen work for granted," Sarcomo said. "We want people to notice our Airmen's efforts when things are running smoothly, not simply when they break down. But if they do, our customers should know our Airmen will be there."