7th CS receives highest score in DoD history during CCRI

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Charles V. Rivezzo
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The 7th Communication Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, received a 96.3 percent, the highest in Department of Defense history, during the 7th Bomb Wing's Command Cyber Readiness Inspection Nov. 14-18.

"We were inspected on traditional security and the vulnerability of our network," said Senior Airman Justin Walls, 7th CS. "For the communication world, this inspection is bigger than an Operational Readiness Inspection. It has the potential to shutdown the entire network if we fail.

The 7th CS scored 96.3 percent for the NIPR portion of the inspection earning a grade of "outstanding." They received an "excellent" rating on the SIPR portion with a score of 80.5 percent.

Ross Balfour, 24th Air Force Cyber Force Protection Branch, congratulated the unit on the unprecedented score of 96.3 percent.

"I would like to take this opportunity to point out that Dyess AFB has achieved the highest NIPR CCRI score since the implementation of CCRI Phase II scoring," he said. "Prior to this, the highest NIPR score for all services was 92.9 percent"

The inspection was a detailed review of Dyess' Information Assurance programs, UNCLASS and CLASSIFIED networks, and analysis and scoring of critical cyber and physical assets.

"Our cyberspace warriors work extremely hard every day defending the net," said Maj. Robert Mammenga, 7th CS commander. "This inspection validated the work we do is spot-on, and we are extremely proud that we have been defending the net better than any other DoD cyberspace professionals."

Mammenga believes the labor-intensive preparation for the CCRI was the key to the record-setting performance.

"Two keys to success were our aggressive approach to patching vulnerable systems and the deployment of Microsoft Windows 7," Mammenga said. "New vulnerabilities are discovered every day, and this approach quickly reduces the risk of intrusion on the network."

The 7th CS migrated 3,080 of our 3,529 workstations to Windows 7 prior to the CCRI.

"Receiving the highest inspection score in DoD history, the men and women of the 7 CS's commitment to excellence shone through as one of America's premier communication squadrons," added Mammenga.