The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, has agreed to support CyberPatriot, a one-of-a-kind National High School Cyber Defense Competition.

AFRL recognized the potential benefits of CyberPatriot early in the concept development phase, providing technical advice on a number of aspects of the project. The decision to follow-up that assistance with a modest grant and continued in-kind technical support came straight from the top. Commander of the lab, Major General Curtis M. Bedke, USAF, said: “I fully support this initiative; it’s a great idea, and these are the perfect people to be doing it.”

AFA’s CyberPatriot program began less than 18 months ago and has already ambitiously expanded in just its second year to offer this hands-on learning experience to as many students as possible, currently more than 1,000 students in teams of up to five from each school, with plans to continue growing next year. Limited to Air Force Junior ROTC and Civil Air Patrol high school students this year, the program will be offered to non-JROTC high schools beginning this spring. This AFA initiative promotes student career interest in cyber security and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics career fields, in keeping with AFA’s chartered mission to promote aerospace education.

“We are extremely grateful for AFRL’s superb support of this exciting project,” said S. Sanford Schlitt, AFA’s Vice Chairman for Aerospace Education. “The funding and in-kind support will allow us to take the even more ambitious step of moving out on CyberPatriot III for the 2010-2011 school year.”

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