New Cyber Squadron in New Jersey Air Guard Going to McGuire

A new cyber squadron in the New Jersey Air National Guard will be based at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, the latest development in a yearslong shift as the Air Force shifts Guard units away from missions that officials believe do not keep pace with modern warfare.

The 227th Cyber Operations Squadron officially activated April 1 but is not expected to reach full operational capability by spring 2030, the Air Force said in an Aug. 15 press release. The unit will be stationed at JBMDL. In May, the 227th Air Support Operations Squadron cased its colors at nearby Atlantic City Air National Guard Base. Its manpower slots will go to JBMDL to support the incoming cyber squadron.

The transition is part of the Air Force’s wider reduction of Tactical Air Control Party Airmen, who embed with ground troops to call in air strikes, supply drops, medevacs, and other forms of air support. In 2023, the Air Force said it would reduce the field of about 3,700 positions down to 2,130 over the next three years, a 44 percent drop.

The Air Force is also retiring the A-10 attack jet, which specializes in providing close air support missions for ground troops. In 2024, the service said the Maryland Air National Guard would trade its A-10s for a cybersecurity mission, a move which a Maryland Air Guard official said would make them “the only state in the nation that doesn’t fly.”

Both TACPs and A-10s played critical roles in the Global War on Terror, where they faced minimal enemy air defenses. Air Force officials predict that will not be the case in a conflict with rivals Russia or China, and they are trying to shed those platforms and capabilities to free up resources.

Since its members can pursue civilian careers, the Air National Guard often positions itself as a reservoir of expertise in technical fields such as cyber.

“We bring real-world perspective coming from industry,” Ken Flowers, chief technology officer with the National Guard Bureau, said in a December press release. “We can bring folks in that have dealt with artificial intelligence, machine learning, you know, quantum computing, in their day-to-day, and then come in here and they can apply it.”

Most Air National Guard cyberspace squadrons stood up in the past 10 years or so, with new squadrons and facilities still in the pipeline. Recent developments include:

September 2023: Ohio stood up the 179th Cyberspace Wing, the first cyberspace wing in the Air National Guard, which had previously been a C-130-flying airlift wing. 
December 2023: Virginia’s 185th Cyberspace Operations Squadron opens a brand new cyberspace facility at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, the 192nd Wing’s first purpose-built structure in 16 years.
August 2024: Tennessee activates the 228th Cyber Operations Group in a move meant to consolidate the state’s Air National Guard cyber programs