36112,
09
February
2021
|
18:29 PM
America/Chicago

Calif., Colo., N.C. Cadets Reach CyberPatriot XIII National Finals

Two familiar names from past championship rounds and a first-time finalist will represent Civil Air Patrol next month in the finals of the Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot XIII National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

The CyberPatriot cadet from the California Wing’s Fullerton Composite Squadron 56 is returning to the finals in 2021, having reached the national stage in 2018 and 2019, while the team from the Colorado Wing’s Air Academy Cadet Squadron is returning after participating in the CyberPatriot III finals 10 years ago.

The team from Union County Composite Squadron in Matthews, North Carolina, rounds out the CAP field, having secured the wild card slot in the competition’s All Service Division.

These CAP teams will be competing online March 20-21 against 10 other teams in the All Service Division, which consists of Junior ROTC teams from each of the military services as well as the Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

“Congratulations to the three CAP national finalist teams for CyberPatriot XIII,” said Maj. Bill Blatchley.

In all, 407 Civil Air Patrol teams participated in this past year’s competition, and an additional CAP 114 teams registered in the Middle School Division, which includes all middle schools nationwide.

The annual competition hosted by AFA challenges teams of high school and middle school students to find and fix cybersecurity vulnerabilities in virtual operating systems. Using a proprietary competition system, teams are scored on how secure they make the system.

CAP teams have finished first nationally three times – in 2011, when a Florida Wing entry took the title, and in 2012 and 2017, when the crown went to the Blatchley-coached Colorado Springs Cadet Squadron. In addition, the California Wing’s Beach Cites Cadet Squadron 107 won the inaugural Middle School Division competition in 2014