Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Computer science faculty members at Mississippi State soon will be training "wounded warriors" in digital forensics at Walter Reed Army Hospital.
With the goal of helping veterans improve their job opportunities after leaving the military, the university's partnership with U. S. Army Garrison at the Washington, D.C., medical center is similar to an MSU training program in digital forensics. To date, that campus program has been completed by more than 2,400 law enforcement officers from more than 20 states.
Professor Ray Vaughn and associate professor David Dampier of the computer science and engineering department recently launched the program with Walter Reed's garrison commander, Col. Bruce Haselden. Training will be provided through the hospital's Transition Employment Assistance Management Service Division.
During a formal ceremony Thursday [Jan. 29] in the nation's capital, Maj. Gen. Carla G. Hawley-Bowland, commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, will sign a memorandum of understanding with Kirk Schulz, MSU's vice president of research and economic development. Other MSU and Defense Department representatives, along with members of the National Science Foundation, and U.S. Veteran's Administration, also will attend. [See end of story for other details.]
Schulz said working with Walter Reed helps the university fulfill its land-grant mission of public outreach--in this case, to America's veterans. "MSU is committed to providing outstanding educational opportunities for our veterans, and this partnership is another step forward as we seek to be a national leader in veteran's issues," he added.
The first of six initial forensic courses begin this week at the medical center. All are being provided at no cost to defense, VA or active military members in training.
The NSF is supporting the majority of the $1 million project over the next three years. MSU serves as the lead institution for the collaborative program that also includes Auburn and Tuskegee universities in Alabama.
MSU has developed a national reputation in cyber-security and training and research through its Center for Computer Security Research, Cyber Corps program, National Forensics Training Center, and other related programs. Both MSU and Auburn hold titles as National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.
MSU is also home to the G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans, which provides military veteran educational support services.
A retired Army officer who also is one of MSU's Giles Distinguished Professors, Vaughn said the courses will help develop digital forensics investigators in the field of cyber-security. Participation priority is being giving to minorities and women, he added.
Vaughn said the collected media analysis classes will be taught in three phases to accommodate veterans with varying levels of computer experience and physical limitations. Once the training is complete, participants may qualify for veterans-assistance programs to open their own consulting firms or seek employment with the government, he explained.
"What we're trying to do is help those who may have had a traumatic experience during their military career, or for some reason cannot continue in their military service and need to make a career change," he said. "We're trying to offer them hope and a new vocation."
Dampier and staff members at MSU's Forensics Training Center recently led a successful prototype class at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Jackson.
Walter Reed is the Army's flagship medical center in the eastern United States. It serves more than 150,000 active and retired personnel in all branches of the military.
Robert F. Lentz, chief information assurance officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, said the partnership with MSU blends a growing need for certified forensics specialists in information assurance and cyber-security with an expansion of veterans' job training.
"The alarming number of cyber intrusions and identity thefts require we greatly increase the number of first responders to assist the public and private sectors by quickly identifying and remediating cyber events," Lentz said. "Making this program available to our wounded warriors is a tremendous accomplishment."
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: The Thursday ceremony at Walter Reed begins at 5 p.m. in the Directorate, Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation Conference Center, located on the second floor of Building 11, Delano Hall.
For more information on the program or ceremony, contact Dr. Vaughn at 662-325-7450 or Vaughn@cse.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.