Military science

This site provides resources and content for the domain, Military Science University at http://milsciu.org

Disclaimer: Recommendations for prospective recruits are drawn from official Department of Defense materials, with specific references to the relevant publications. For students interested in the United States Army, the governing policy agency that provides continuity for these training guidelines, the agency you can confirm this content through is the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at https://www.tradoc.army.mil/.

Welcome to Military Science University. Military Science is the study of military doctrine for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force, including strategy, tactics, tradition, policies, history and training.

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18:11, 17 JUL 2024 (UTC) Sometimes during the stay at home orders and the school closures during the pandemic, there were gaps in the curriculum provided by distance learning to those students. In response, and even as normal school conditions get underway again, prospective recruits for the armed forces can augment their traditional learning content through a number of US Government department/ agency online training academies. Why is this important for prospective recruits or young people planning to enter into a career in the public sector? Experts say that obtaining a broad base of knowledge, including becoming familiar with information outside your specific area of study plays a beneficial role in recognizing and formulating unique solutions and then implementing them, even in a new area that you have no prior experience in! You can both increase your knowledge, and meet the armed forces goal of becoming a life-long learner by enrolling in some of the best online training schools offered by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The program resources at these department/ agency schools are tuition free and provide their students with highly practical and valuable training opportunities. This is your chance to supplement - even improve on your pre-enlistment education - so don't delay - get enrolled in any of these top rated DOD and DHS training sites today.

The Center for Development of Security Excellence

The Center for Development of Security Excellence (CDSE) is a nationally accredited, award-winning training academy operated by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). CDSE provides security education, training, certifications and services to a broad audience supporting the protection of National Security and professionalization of the DOD security environment. This is where you will learn to spot the signs of possible insider threats, particularly in companies that serve the industrial and technological base for the Department of Defense. Get started at your own pace with their online courses or instructional videos by visiting the CDSE online training portal at https://www.cdse.edu Some current CDSE courses (including a few that I've taken) are Insider Threat Awareness, Cyber-Security Awareness for DOD Personnel and Contractors, Counterintelligence Concerns for National Security, Thwarting Enemy Countermeasures, OPSEC for Military Personnel and Civilian Employees, Counterintelligence Awareness and Security Briefings, Counterintelligence Foreign Travel Measures, Methods for Marking and Handling Classified Materials, The Relationship Between Counterintelligence Awareness and Security, and more.

The Emergency Management Institute

The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) supports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) goals by improving the competencies of personnel at all levels of government and to approved members of the general public (like a prospective armed forces recruit) to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the potential effects of all types of disasters and emergencies that affect the American public. The Emergency Management Institute offers self-paced online courses designed for people who have emergency management responsibilities and are also offered to the general public. All online courses are offered free-of-charge to those who qualify for enrollment. To get started and for the complete listing of courses available, visit the EMI Independent Study website at https://training.fema.gov/is/crslist.aspx The courses are detailed and thorough and the exams are fairly challenging. As of this posting I have one course in progress and have completed around ten others. EMI courses include Military Resources Role in Emergency Management, Public Information Officer Training, Decision Making and Problem Solving, Protecting Infrastructure from Insider Threats, Facility Security Level Rating Process, Continuity of Operations During Pandemics, Active Shooter Response Techniques, Special Events Contingency Planning and more.

Bio-Threat Preparedness Training for Sentinel Laboratories Series

Each of these intermediate-level, interactive and tuition free courses reviews a component of the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) protocols for bio-terrorism agent identification. As part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Laboratory Series, these courses include case studies, real-life laboratory scenarios and additional links to resource information. The course materials can also be used as part of a laboratory’s competency assessment program for terrorism preparedness. Preview the course summaries and access the course links for potential bioterrorism agents at https://www.cdc.gov/labtraining/training-courses/biothreat-preparedness-sentinel/index.html After attending this series you will gain a better understanding of potential bioterrorism agents and the steps we can take to mitigate their impacts. With an increased awareness of these pathogens and the methods for delivering them, a laboratory technician or first-responder has a better chance of possibly preventing an outbreak or at least limiting it's full destructive potential. I took the classes for all five of the bio agents to complete this special CDC series which is recommended for laboratory personnel who perform pathogen identification testing, members of the public who want to be more vigilant against these attack methods and for hospital staff too, especially emergency room attendants who will often be the first health care professionals to encounter infected patients who are presenting with strange or elusive symptoms caused by exposure to Yersenia Pestis (bubonic plague), Brucella spp species, Burkholderia spp species, Francisella Tularensis, or Bacillus antracis (anthrax).

Defense Information Systems Agency - Cybersecurity Training and Certifications

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) provides a thorough series of classes to train users on how to avoid a range of online cybersecurity threats. The Cyber Awareness Challenge has been recently updated and you can access this class at https://public.cyber.mil/training/cyber-awareness-challenge/ The course provides an overview of cybersecurity threats and best practices to keep information systems secure. Every year, DOD network users must complete the Cyber Awareness Challenge to stay up-to-date on new cybersecurity threats. Though this course is required for DOD network users, the content is available to students outside the DOD who also want the benefit of attending the four other DISA courses listed here (which I did). After you pass a course you can print a certificate of completion, which is a feature available for every course at all of the DOD and DHS online schools listed across the entirety of this site. Next up, the Social Networking and Online Identity course familiarizes users with some of the risks associated with social networking services, especially for military, civilian, or contractor members of the DOD. This course also offers open enrollment and is available at https://public.cyber.mil/training/social-networking/ The next course, ​Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information, starts with an overview of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) and emphasizes the significance of each. This class is available at https://public.cyber.mil/training/identifying-and-safeguarding-personally-identifiable-information-pii/ In the course on Mobile Devices, users will learn about significant security issues and vulnerabilities associated with mobile devices. After reviewing the vulnerabilities of mobile devices and who is at risk, users are informed on how to protect against data compromise and against malware. The DOD Mobile Devices class is available at https://public.cyber.mil/cyber-training/training-catalog/ Lastly, an interactive training course explains what phishing is and provides examples of the different types of phishing techniques such as deceptive e-mails and impersonated web sites. Guidelines are provided to help users recognize phishing attempts, so that appropriate actions may be taken to avoid these attacks and their consequences. To attend the DISA Phishing Awareness training, visit https://public.cyber.mil/training/phishing-awareness/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Laboratory Training

Learn the roles of various personnel in the laboratory informatics enterprise, data relationships, data quality and standards, and the generation and flow of information as a specimen progresses through the pre-analytic, analytic, and post-analytic phases. Using the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) sentinel laboratory protocols, this CDC online resource provides interested students training in detecting potential biothreat agents, from a safe, virtual environment. There are over thirty courses included in this CDC curriculum including Fundamentals of Working Safely in a Biological Safety Cabinet, Fundamentals of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Clinical Laboratories (I attended both those courses), Introduction to Laboratory Informatics, Basic Molecular Biology Modules 1 - 4, Basic Microscopy, Routine Microscopy Procedures, Biochemicals and Gram Positive Organism ID, Biochemicals and Gram Negative Organism ID, Fundamentals of Centrifuge Safety, Core Microbiology Skills, Laboratory Practices for Molecular Genetics Testing, Packing and Shipping Dangerous Goods, Basic Molecular Biology Series and more available at https://www.cdc.gov/labtraining/

Department of Homeland Security - Center for Domestic Preparedness

The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) provides advanced, all-hazards training to emergency responders from state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as the federal government, foreign governments, and private entities, as available. The scope of training includes preparedness, protection, and response in a wide range of disciplines: Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Service, Governmental Administrative, Hazardous Materials, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Public Safety Communications, Public Works, Agriculture, Education, Citizen/Community Volunteer, Information Technology, Security and Safety, Search and Rescue, and Transportation. A few of the courses available to you (including five that I have attended) are Hazardous Materials Awareness Distance Learning, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Awareness and Security Procedures, Chemical Sector Security Awareness Training, Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response Awareness, Response Considerations During an Outbreak or Pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment Considerations for Infectious Agents, Bomb-Making Materials Awareness Employee Training, Nuclear/Radiological Incident course, Emergency Medical Response Awareness for CBRNE Incidents, and more at https://cdp.dhs.gov/online_course

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Training

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) Infrastructure Security Division (a directorate of DHS) offers a wide array of free training programs. These web-based independent study courses, instructor-led courses, and associated training materials provide qualified students with the knowledge and skills needed to implement critical infrastructure security and resilience activities. The courses are developed and maintained by the Office of Infrastructure Protection in partnership with critical infrastructure owners and operators, Sector-Specific Agencies and other federal and state agencies. CISA is the Nation’s risk advisor, working with partners to defend against today’s threats and collaborating to build a more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future. One way the agency accomplishes this goal is by providing Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Training opportunities with courses like Chemical Sector Training; Commercial Facilities Sector Training; Dams Sector Training; Emergency Services Sector Training; Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector Training and many more are available at the CISA learning portal at https://www.cisa.gov/cisa-training

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - TRAIN Public Health Courses

CDC TRAIN is a gateway into the TRAIN Learning Network, the most comprehensive catalog of public health training opportunities. TRAIN is a free service for students provided by the Public Health Foundation. CDC TRAIN provides access to more than 1,000 courses developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention educational programs, grantees, and other funded partners. The public health courses offered by authorized CDC TRAIN learning providers (state and private colleges and universities) have been approved and verified by the CDC (I've attended twelve courses and they are very thorough in covering the topics). Some of the courses available to registered CDC TRAIN students include COVID-19 Awareness Training, Introduction to Pandemic Influenza, USDA Food Safety, EPA Potable Water, EPA Wastewater Treatment, EPA Municipal Solid Waste, Hazardous Materials Training, Overview of Disease Outbreak Investigations, Trends in Emerging Zoonotic Diseases, Characteristics of the 4 Biohazard Levels, Introduction to Field-Based Epidemiology, Weapons of Mass Destruction Training for EMTs, and more are available at https://www.train.org/cdctrain/welcome

Nationwide SAR Initiative NSI Online Training Courses

The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) is a joint collaborative effort by the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement partners. This initiative provides law enforcement and security personnel with a valuable tool to help prevent terrorism and other related criminal activity by establishing a national capacity for gathering, documenting, processing, analyzing, and sharing SAR information. To increase the effectiveness of the program, the NSI has developed training programs for frontline officers and hometown security partners regarding documented and verified behaviors and indicators that, when viewed in the context of all known facts and circumstances, may indicate terrorism-related criminal activity. Both the SAR Line Officer Training and each sector-specific SAR Hometown Security Partners Training discuss how to report identified suspicious activity to the proper authorities while maintaining the protection of citizens' privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. Online training includes Emergency Management, Explosive Precursors Point of Sale, Fire/EMS, Maritime Safety, Private Sector Security Training (I attended that course), Probation/Parole/Corrections, Public Health & Health Care Partners, Public Safety Communications, and SAR Line Officer Training are available with course descriptions at https://www.dhs.gov/nationwide-sar-initiative-nsi/online-sar-training A DHS public awareness video - If You See Something, Say Something - is also provided at the training site.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Federal Virtual Training Environment

The Federal Virtual Training Environment (FedVTE) provides free online introductory cybersecurity courses to interested students, and the learning public, by accessing the CISA FedVTE public learning portal at https://fedvte.usalearning.gov/public_fedvte.php where you can choose from a dozen available cybersecurity training topics like reverse engineering, cyber threat risk management, infrastructure protection, DNS attacks and other relevant subjects. I recently attended the course, Don’t Wake Up to a Ransomware Attack, which I recommend as a preview to learning more about the topic. In particular to note from this presentation is a divergent encrypted malicious code attack called NotPetya. (You can also visit https://StopRansomware.gov for DHS focused resources on ransomware, as well as threat alerts, definitions, and bulletins updated at the National Cyber Awareness System (NCAS) from the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) at https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories, for example the NotPetya bulletins are listed there). After I finished viewing the ransomware course, like the learning centers I've listed above, the student is offered the option to download a certificate of attendance for the ungraded course in pdf for your records or printing. The second method of access to FedVTE (for timed, graded exams on detailed cybersecurity courses presented by subject matter expert instructors) is through a registered login at https://fedvte.usalearning.gov for federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial government employees, federal contractors, or military veterans. A link is also provided there to the public access audit courses.

CDC ZOHU Webinars with IACET Accredited CEUs

The goal of the ZOHU Call Continuing Education program is to increase participants’ knowledge of zoonotic diseases, their effects on human and animal health, and strategies for preventing and responding to zoonotic disease threats. The ZOHU Calls are one-hour monthly webinars that provide timely education on zoonotic and infectious diseases to medical and health care professionals, students, and the interested public. You can find the most recent, upcoming, and past ZOHU Call webinars at https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/zohu/index.html The CDC ZOHU educational program is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is accredited to issue IACET Continuing Education Units (CEUs). After attending a ZOHU Call, the student can take a knowledge assessment quiz to receive CEUs for that webinar, which is described at https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/zohu/continuingeducation.html The quiz and the credits are awarded through the CDC TCEO (Training and Continuing Education Online) website at https://tceols.cdc.gov/ After you login there, use the Search Courses to find the specific ZOHU Call that you want to get credit for, select it, complete the survey and pass the quiz and the credit hours will be added to your CDC TCEO transcript. The quiz may be a short one, but the questions are very specific and I found that I need to take the quiz just after viewing a ZOHU Call to receive a passing score. In other reviews on this page, I've advocated for studying systems and processes outside of your usual training because it can help you recognize patterns, similarities, and solutions to unrelated systems that are in your field of study, so check out the CDC ZOHU Calls and see how they can compliment your overall continuing online education.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Virtual Learning Portal - Industrial Control Systems Security

The CISA Virtual Learning Portal (VLP) provides no-cost technical training classes on cybersecurity centered on specific training for Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Beginning or registered students can get started at the CISA VLP learning portal as explained at https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/training-available-through-cisa overview page. This DHS online-training academy is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is accredited to issue IACET Continuing Education Units (CEUs). This accreditation process (which is also offered by other schools reviewed throughout this page) raises the standards for the classes as they are presented to students, and then in turn the students have to demonstrate they really know the subject by means of a reasonably thorough technical exam offered after the material. After completing the course content and passing the exam, the results are recorded in a student transcript, accessible through the student’s CISA VLP learning objectives dashboard. So far I began and completed one course titled 210W-03 Common ICS Components. Out of twenty total questions in that exam, I missed one related to industrial control communication protocols, so I reviewed my notes on ICCP afterwards. To complete this class, I invested about 15 minutes above the estimated 1.5 hours of studying time as recommended at the site for this course material. I have scheduled some more classes like Current Trend (Threat), Current Trend (Vulnerabilities) and Attack Methodologies in IT & ICS because I think those courses tie into the information found at the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories Advisories page. For students seeking the next level in their technical cyber training, I highly recommend enrolling in the Industrial Control Systems security courses available at the CISA VLP web portal.

More learning opportunities are on the way - so stay tuned for the next updates on:

> DHS Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) at https://www.cisa.gov/office-bombing-prevention-obp

> Careers in Army Acquisition, Logistics & Technology at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/civilian/

> NCF cyber awareness resources and games for students at https://www.cryptologicfoundation.org/students

> Joint Special Operations University no-cost military e-books and webinars at https://www.jsou.edu/press

More information on military news and current events:

> Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (Chrome browser not supported) at https://www.dvidshub.net

> United States Naval Institute articles, podcasts, videos and news at https://www.usni.org

> Defense Systems Information Analysis Center webinars at https://www.dsiac.org

> Official DOD news and briefings from the Pentagon at https://www.defense.gov

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