DANBURY, CONN. — Retired Rear Adm. Gretchen S. Herbert, former commander of U.S. Navy Cyber Forces, will discuss the challenges of managing information technology security and assurance in a lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, at Western Connecticut State University.

Herbert’s talk, “A Cyber Awakening,” will be at 5:30 p.m. in Classroom Building Room 218 on the university’s Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. The lecture will be free and the public is invited to attend. The lecture is sponsored by the WCSU Ancell School of Business.

Herbert, who concluded a 29-year military career with her retirement in January 2014, directed Navy Cyber Forces (CYBERFOR) from June 2011 through September 2013 at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia. During her tenure as commander, Herbert oversaw the reorganization and management of the unit responsible for staffing, training and equipping the U.S. Navy’s command, control, communications, computer, combat systems and intelligence workforce.

Her lecture will provide insights into the challenges of balancing collaboration and access with responsive and credible network security. She emphasized the importance of instilling “a new culture of cyber awareness and ownership” in all organizations, and said that she will discuss why cyber security should be considered a high priority for all business leaders that cannot be relegated solely to chief information and IT security officers.

During the change of command ceremony that marked the end of her tenure as CYBERFOR chief, Herbert received the Legion of Merit from Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command. The honorary citation noted Herbert’s exemplary achievements in developing and executing a comprehensive plan to strengthen fleet electronic warfare capabilities and in making CYBERFOR a driving force for cyber warfare readiness in the U.S. Navy.

“Among her professional achievements was her early-on recognition for systems integration as a crucial part of our deployers’ mission success,” Gortney remarked. “We are so proud of all that you have done, and congratulate you on an incredible tour and an amazing career — 29 years of dedicated service to our Navy and our nation.”

Herbert received her commission through the Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps program at the University of Rochester, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1984. She began her Navy career with assignments in the areas of undersea surveillance and oceanographic systems. During the course of her career, Herbert held positions of growing responsibility including satellite communications officer for U.S. Naval Forces Europe, executive officer for the Fleet Surveillance Support Command, instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College, and commanding officer at the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station in Washington. She also held several leadership positions in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, including a tenure as director of the Communications, Networks and Chief Information Officer Division on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance.

Herbert’s fleet assignments included deployments to the Arabian Gulf on the USS George Washington as a combat systems officer, and to the western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf on the USS Ronald Reagan as an assistant chief of staff for communications and information systems to the commander of Carrier Strike Group 7.

She holds a master’s degree in systems technology with concentration in space systems operations from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a master’s degree in military studies from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

For more information, contact Ancell School Coordinator Kathleen Lindenmayer at lindenmayerk@wcsu.edu or the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

 

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