ROYAL AUXILIARY AIR FORCE I 100 th ANNIVERSARY
Cyber Reserves
In 2013 Defence set out a programme to match the ambition of the Strategic Defence and Security Review ( SDSR ) 2010 to innovate in securing information advantage through a bold and , at the time , a unique project to leverage high end cyber capability from industry to support Defence in cyber operations .
When defining the conditions for the Cyber Reserves , Air Chief Marshal The Lord Peach , former Chief Defence Staff , commented that the team should be about talent not rank . As a result , the Cyber Reserves are able to select personnel with high-end cyber skills that would otherwise not pass the typical medical or fitness standards for military service . Predominantly they are ‘ Keyboard Warriors ’.
The RAuxAF provided the workforce requirements for 3 of the units to create a unit within Air Command and contribute posts to 2 tri-service units that sit under UK Strategic Command ( UKStratCom ). Those units are : 6 Cyber Reserve Squadron ( 6CR Sqn ) based at RAF Digby , Cyber Specialist Unit ( CSU ) based at MOD Corsham and the Joint Cyber Unit ( Reserve ) Cheltenham ( JCU ( R ) Ch ).
At its core the CRF is wholly focused on accessing high grade cyber skills from industry , academia , and ex-regular personnel with the requisite skills . Selecting on behalf of the single Services the large numbers to meet the requirement of a joint organisation meant that traditional reserve service
entry Terms and Conditions needed to be challenged and concerns addressed .
For a little over ten years we have strove to think differently , rightly as we champion neural diversity ! We have developed a robust process for selection and military familiarisation package rather than standard Phase 1 training being accepted by the single Service chiefs .
Increasingly , we are seeing that ‘ RAF badged ’ Cyber Reserves wish to reflect the fitness standards of the RAuxAF , recognising they will be able to participate in the wider ‘ family ’ activities of Adventurous Training and Force Development .
By their nature , operational missions remain highly protected albeit all units remain heavily tasked ; the Cyber Reserves for the last 10 years have significantly contributed to enhancing Defence ’ s Cyber Capability and supporting Defence Task 1 – Security of the Nation . At the Cyber Reserve Force 10th Anniversary and Seminar in June 2023 , Air Vice Marshal Tim Neal-Hope reinforced General Jim Hockenhull ’ s message that the “ Cyber Reserve bring criticality to Defence ... Like all reserves they are not part-timers , they are ‘ extra-timers ”.
The units and the RAuxAF contribution to Defence cyber operations are expanded on below .
6 ( Cyber Reserve ) Squadron 90 Signals Unit
The Cyber Reserves are the RAuxAF ’ s most recently formed unit and offer its newest capability . 6 ( Cyber Reserve ) Squadron was created in its current form as recently as 17 October 2021 , when a small Cyber Reserve Flight within 591 Signals Unit at RAF Digby was elevated to squadron strength . The unit ’ s numeral is its first unusual feature . 6 ( CR ) Squadron sits not within the RAuxAF ’ s conventional order of battle , but instead belongs to 90 Signals Unit RAF , in its Operational Information Support Wing . No history attaches to this squadron number within the RAuxAF . Nor is there any precedent for the innovative ways in which the unit recruits , trains , operates , and delivers value to Defence .
The Cyber Reserves ( CRs ) originated in 2013 , when the MoD launched a programme to attract industry specialists with cyber expertise . Then and now , applications passed through a single portal in which candidates are interviewed , assessed , and streamed towards whichever service suits Defence and themselves . Training thereafter is minimal . Historically , CRs have not been required to master military skills nor take fitness tests ( though some voluntarily do both ). Instead , after a two-week Induction Package , recruits are put to work .
In eight years as flight and two as a squadron the RAuxAF ’ s CRs have specialised in Defensive Cyber Operations ( DCO ). Broadly , this means using a battery of techniques to probe
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