(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Captain Tyler Boyle embraces his daughters Avery, right, and Alexis in Draper on Wednesday Jan. 2, 2019. Tyler is one of eighteen Utah National Guard soldiers who are deploying to Fort Meade, Maryland, for 400 days to conduct cyber protection operations.
Draper • Eighteen soldiers from the Utah National Guard left for a long stint safeguarding U.S. computers on Wednesday.
The soldiers will spend 400 days at Fort Meade in Maryland. It is the headquarters of the National Security Agency. The Utah troops will be part of a contingent from 12 states operating under the name Task Force Echo III. A news release says only that the Utah soldiers will “conduct cyber protection operations.”