One of the most needed and lucrative career fields of the future is cyber security. The national media has stories almost every day dealing with some sort of information security breach, either in government, private industry, or both. The cadets of the Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) are already preparing themselves for a career in cyber security by participating in Cyber Patriot, the national cyber security competition for high school students. Cadets assume the role of a security manager for an organization, defending and counter attacking against a cyber attack. They competed in the third round of the competition on Friday, January 19, 2018.
“Our cadets are very versatile,” said Senior Marine Instructor Major Tom McGrath. “All of the members of our Cyber Patriot Team are also on our Military Drill Team. That means they are at the school by 5:45 am for Drill Team practice, and, after going through the full school day, go to Cyber Patriot practice after school. These are also the same cadets who do much of our community service.”
Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, the Marine Instructor, lauded the work of Faculty Advisor Mr. Ralph Gee, the Technology and Engineering Instructor at MCHS. “Ralph is such an unselfish individual who has provided our cadets with insightful knowledge into this competition in particular and the cyber security field in general.”
Cadet Major James Steinhagen, who plans on enlisting in the military and becoming a cyber security specialist, commented on the knowledge he has acquired from the Cyber Patriot team. “This has been a great experience for me and has motivated me to pursue cyber security as a career while I serve my country.”
Last summer, the team attended a week long Cyber Security camp at Purdue University Northwest-Hammond. The camp was conducted at no cost to the cadets. Major McGrath stated that if that opportunity presents itself again, the MCJROTC will take advantage of it.