RHS consultant named CyberPatriot Mentor of the Year

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ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Petty Officer James Moore, who acted as a consultant for the Robertsdale High School Naval Junior ROTC’s CyberPatriot program, has been named the CyberPatriot XII Mentor of the Year for 2020.

Moore, an active duty Sailor at Corry Station, headquarters for the U.S. Navy’s Center for Information and Warfare Training at NAS Pensacola, took a first-year team from Robertsdale High School to the Platinum tier, the most advanced skill level in the competition.

CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air Force Association to inspire K-12 students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

This was the RHS NJROTC’s first year to compete in the global competition, finishing fourth in the five-state NJROTC Area 8 and in the top 25 percent of 6,700 teams nationally.

According to a release on uscyberpatriot.org, Moore drives nearly 100 miles round trip to participate in practices and competitions.

Outside of CyberPatriot, Moore actively serves in the Navy as a cryptologic technician, teaching computer security to fellow members of the military.

When asked about his time as a mentor, Moore said, “It was a privilege to watch the team develop a passion for cyber security, and I am honored to have been able to provide a helping hand.”

RHS NJROTC Commander Frank Starr said he could not be prouder of Moore as their technical mentor.

“There cannot be another mentor who was driving farther, balancing a demanding military career with a family life, and delivering instruction, mentoring, and oversight to the extent that he did,” he said. “The results bear out his effectiveness. (Our team’s success) surpassed my expectations for our first-year team. His professional, infectious, can-do attitude were critical to our success and reflected great credit upon himself.”