Sgt. John Goedmakers, a Network Analyst with the Army Reserve Cyber Protection Brigade demonstrated the value of combining military and civilian experience at the Cyber Subject Matter Expert Trilateral Event held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Feb 6th – 10th, 2023.

Originally from Jupiter, Florida, Goedmakers began his career as a Financial Analyst and in the Army Reserve as a Combat Engineer before transitioning to the cyber career field with ARCPB. His extensive experience and qualifications include certifications such as Pentest+, Certified Ethical Hacker, GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester, and AWS Solutions Architect, as well as military courses such as Discovery and Counter-Infiltration, Cyber Threat Emulation, and Cyber Common Technical Core. His Army Cyber experience allowed him to support the Army Cyber Protection Brigade at Fort Gordon for a year and work as an Incident Responder supporting the Marine Corps. His impressive background led to his selection for ARCPB’s task force for the Cyber Subject Matter Expert Trilateral Event.

During the event, Goedmakers utilized his experience to suggest a workaround for a software issue that was preventing the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force from completing its threat emulation plan. He proposed a manual technique to continue their operation, which was well-received. His colleagues considered him a “jack-of-all-trades” as he continued to provide additional support to the team.

Not only did Goedmakers’ experience at the event allowed him to contribute to the team’s success, but it also provided him with the opportunity to learn from others and gain additional perspectives and industry best practices. The shared experience emphasized the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing, allowing for cross-organizational knowledge and skills to be leveraged to improve capability exponentially.

In conclusion, Sgt. John Goedmakers’ experience at the Cyber Subject Matter Expert Trilateral Event underscores the benefits of combining military and civilian experience in the cyber operations field. His extensive background, qualifications, and military training allowed him to provide unorthodox solutions to training challenges and contribute to the success of the event. The shared experience demonstrated the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing in improving capability and growing in the field.