Minnesota National Guard’s 177th Cyber Protection Team Returns Home

(KNSI) — More than 30 soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard’s 177th Cyber Protection Team are back in Minnesota after mobilizing to Fort Meade, Maryland, as part of a task force helping protect Department of Defense networks from cyber attacks.

The soldiers hail from communities across Minnesota, including Brainerd, Fort Ripley, Maple Grove, Otsego, Rice, Rogers, Royalton, and Sartell.

“This mobilization was the culmination of years of hard work by our highly-trained and specialized cyber Soldiers,” said Army Maj. Brian Morgan, the 177th Cyber Protection Team Commander. “Our unit received fully operational capability while on this mission, which is a
rare achievement and represents thousands of hours of training and preparation since initial notification. The Cyber Protection Team successfully helped protect DoD networks, and we return to Minnesota proudly.”

The deployment in October of 2020 served as a first for the Minnesota Cyber Protection Unit, even though it was established in Rosemount in 2017. Minnesota is one of only three states to have fully staffed an entire Cyber Protection Team. It is one of 23 similar units across the Guard.

The unit will celebrate its return at a ceremony in February.

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