From the Chief: Tell Your Story

One of the most important things I get to do as chief of the National Guard Bureau is tell the Guard’s story — your story.

That’s why I’m grateful NATIONAL GUARD, the official publication of NGAUS, is giving me the opportunity to share our story from my perspective as chief. Every month, I’ll talk about a topic of interest or where I’m traveling, who I’m meeting and what I’m learning along the way.

I hope you find each month’s story helpful, but most of all, I hope it gets you talking and sharing your Guard story, too.

The Guard is built on service. When confronted with conflict, danger or trouble, most people freeze or run away. It’s often referred to as “fight, flight, or freeze.” But in the Guard, our response reflects our motto: “Always Ready, Always There.”

In times of conflict, we fight. When our service is not needed, we carry on with our civilian lives. In many cases, our civilian jobs and experiences give us additional skills and perspectives that prove very valuable when we put on our uniform.

The inherent duality of being a civilian and a service member is both a great strength and a great responsibility. It is a great strength in the varied and advanced capabilities we bring to the service of our nation — something that often differentiates us from our active counterparts.

Yet it is also a great responsibility, knowing that at any moment we may be asked to step away from the source of this additional expertise to defend our nation or respond to those in need. When we choose to serve, we choose a life of eternal vigilance. In return, we have the opportunity to make a difference.

The inherent duality of being a civilian and a service member is both a great strength and a great responsibility.

A recent example is the Guard’s All Services Cyber Cup Team. In December, they won the SANS Institute NetWars DoD Services Cup Championship for the third year in a row!

This accomplishment is even more impressive considering the championship has only been in place for five years, and the Guard has only competed in the past four. The story of this recent win exemplifies the fundamentals of Guard service, and it demonstrates the capabilities and experience our Guardsmen bring.

Led by Brig. Gen. Teri D. Williams, the 2022 team included Tech. Sgt. Brandon DeVault of Florida, Warrant Officer Michael Gibbs of North Carolina, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Chris Ravis of Ohio, 2nd Lt. Aaron Rosenmund of Delaware and Spc. Nicholas McKinney of California.

The team reflects the joint nature of the Guard, and, coming from different states, showed our ability to work together as a team. Some had previously competed in the Cyber Cup Championship, while others were alternates who stepped in at the last minute.

Regardless of their backgrounds, they came together as team “ctf4antz,” a reference to the movie Zoolander. Together, they developed a plan and executed it, defeating teams from the Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Space Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and the Defense Information Systems Agency.

In their civilian jobs, the ctf4antz teammates are security researchers and engineers. They work for banks, software companies and consulting firms. Every day, they face real-world cyber challenges and gain experiences that far surpass what we could cover in a drill period.

They bring those skills to the Guard, making us stronger and more capable. Every one of us brings our knowledge, our local perspectives and a lifetime of experiences when we serve our nation. This duality is a force-multiplier.

Teamwork and building readiness are at the heart of everything we do. Throughout our history — particularly the recent past — the Guard has had to respond with little warning. In a crisis, we do not have the luxury of time to figure out how to work with others or how to do our jobs; our responsibility is to respond when our nation and our communities need us.

We must continually focus on readiness as individuals, as a team and as a Guard. Like the Guard’s championship Cyber Cup Team, we must be Always Ready, Always There.

A column written by Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, is the first of its kind to appear in the NGAUS publication.