Charlotte Warrior Niner Selected For U.S. Space Force Elite
Walter Kirkland Jr. is — literally — a guardian of the galaxy. Not a film franchise guardian. A real one. He has been selected to be a member of the U.S. Space Force, America’s newest military branch, where he will be at the forefront of the final frontier.
Preparing to join the Space Force, established in December 2019, is exciting for Kirkland, as a 49er undertaking this critical job to protect the nation’s access to space. A computer science major, he’s training for his future role as a cyber operations officer.
“Cybersecurity is the modernization of the traditional dichotomy of offense and defense used in military strategy,” said Kirkland. “As a cyber operations officer, I will be part of Delta 6, the Space Force unit charged with protecting the telemetry and connections to our network of satellites.