06/23/2026
Finding threats in the unseen: A cyber Airman protects the mission from behind the keyboard
From behind the keyboard, everything is quiet. There are no broken parts to hold in his hands, no aircraft panel to remove and no engine to inspect. Just lines of data moving between devices, quietly carrying information that the mission depends on. Somewhere in that traffic, there could be a sign that something does not belong, only visible to the trained eye.
For Staff Sgt. Thomas Greene, a network analyst with the 102d Cyber Operations Squadron, protecting the network means understanding what normal looks like, so he can find what is not supposed to be there.
“You can’t just spot a problem,” said Greene. “You have to know what you’re looking for.”
Greene, a Connecticut native, joined the Air Force at 24 years old after college. He had earned a degree in communications, but said he wanted something more out of life. He wanted to leave Connecticut, see more of the world and be part of something bigger than himself. That decision brought him to active duty, where he served in security forces for four years. His first duty station was Osan Air Base, Korea. From there, he went to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and later deployed to Estonia.
Despite the opportunities security forces gave him, Greene knew it was not the career he wanted long term. A friend in the Connecticut National Guard told him about cyber defense operations and the Rhode Island Air National Guard’s cyber mission. Greene said the career field immediately caught his interest because of how unique it was relative to other fields.
“It’s like a whole different world of understanding how computers work,” said Greene. “It’s kind of the next frontier of warfare. It’s all electronic now.”
Greene transitioned to the Rhode Island Air National Guard and entered the cyber career field with little computer experience. He went through technical school, became certified as a network operator and later mobilized with the 852d Cyber Protection Team. The training was not easy.
“I definitely struggled with it,” said Greene. “Just making it to the end, that was pretty rewarding.”
As a network analyst, Greene looks at traffic between devices and searches for indicators of malicious activity. He looks for signs of compromise, vulnerabilities, missing patches or configurations that could leave a network exposed. The work is quiet, technical and often invisible to the people it protects. Most of the time, he said, the team does not find threats, and that is a good thing.
That lack of visibility does not make the mission any less important. The network carries communication across the force, including information needed to plan and execute missions. If that information is compromised, the mission is at risk.
“That’s how all of our communications are done,” said Greene. “The whole wing relies on [it] to execute and plan missions and we need to make sure none of that’s compromised.”
Greene and his team use a system that allows them to collect and analyze network traffic. They filter through large amounts of data, looking for specific indicators while also removing what they know is not relevant. To be effective, they have to understand what should be on the network and what should not. Sometimes, that means recognizing something as small as two computers communicating in a way they should not. Greene said that type of traffic could indicate a potential threat or compromise to the system.
The squadron has lots of network analysts working together to detect potential threats. There is too much data and too many tasks for one person to do everything alone. Each person has a role, and the team has to stay synchronized as they collect information, analyze it and come back together.
“It’s definitely a team effort,” said Greene. “There’s a million different tasks that have to be carried out and you have to be one cohesive team to make sure everything gets done.”
The military has been a path of transition for Greene. He left Connecticut looking for more, spent years overseas, changed career fields and entered cyber with little experience. Now, he plans to stay in the field, continue building his skills and pursue a civilian cyber career. He has earned several certifications through his military training, including Security+ and three SANS certifications. Two of those certifications focus on industrial control systems.
For Greene and the Airmen in cyber operations, success means the mission continues without interruption. It means the network stays secure. It means the threats that exist in an unseen space are found before they can do damage. Ultimately, cyber defense is about vigilance. It is about protecting the systems that allow the wing to communicate, plan and operate. For Greene, that responsibility starts by monitoring and watching for what should not be there.
(U.S. Air National Guard story by Tech. Sgt. Tyler Donley)
