Rising Star: Capt. Anthony N. Rodriguez

For Capt. Anthony Rodriguez, working above his pay grade is a given. He has taken on increasingly important roles — often far above the ones he’s been assigned — throughout his career in support of the Air Force’s mission-critical IT and cyber operations.

A former cyber operator for U.S. Cyber Command, crew commander for network operations and assistant director for network warfare operations, Rodriguez has been described as being on a relentless quest for innovation, and his achievements put him on the fast track to become the aide-de-camp for the 24th Air Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Christopher Weggeman.

Rodriguez has protected the $14 billion F-16 aircraft fleet by identifying cyber vulnerabilities and advising the Air Combat Command on the best options for fixing them, led the Air Force Cyber Command’s insider threat program and spearheaded the first cyberthreat hunt missions across the U.S. Forces Korea’s critical logistics and airpower bases.

In addition, he oversaw cyber defensive operations for the White House and secretary of the Air Force during the service’s first joint Air Force Cyber and Mission Defense Team defensive mission, unearthing and patching a vulnerability on Air Force One’s network. 

Go to FCW.com for all the 2018 Rising Star profiles