Burke Team Finishes Third at CyberPatriot Finals
NORTH BETHESDA, MD (March 23, 2026) – Civil Air Patrol cadets from Burke Composite Squadron, located in Springfield, Virginia, competed in CyberPatriot, the Air and Space Force Association's National Youth Cyber Education Program. The team, nicknamed Cyber Monkeys, was one of the eleven All Service teams to compete in the CyberPatriot 18 National Finals held from March 21-23.
The team finished third overall in the All Service Division. In the Cisco Networking Challenge, the team finished second in the All Service Division. This was the third consecutive year the team competed in the National Finals.
The CyberPatriot teams competed in increasingly difficult challenges that required them to learn more about computer systems and network infrastructure. These included systems such as Linux, Windows, Windows Server, and Cisco networking.
The Cyber Monkeys competed in two qualifying rounds. In the State Platinum Tier Round, the team finished in first place. In the Semifinals Platinum Tier Round the team finished in second place among all Civil Air Patrol teams, qualifying them to compete in the National Finals. At the start of the competition, there were 1,342 All Service teams in the competition. The All Service Division includes High School JROTC, Civil Air Patrol, and United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps teams.
CyberPatriot is a program of the Air & Space Force Association (AFA). It is designed to attract students to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) - including cybersecurity-specific fields.
The Team Captain for the Cyber Monkeys is Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Zhang, a senior at Lake Braddock Secondary School. The other team members are Cadet First Lieutenant Taiyo Lloyd, a senior at West Springfield High School, Cadet Captain Clara Zhang, a freshman at Lake Braddock Secondary School, Cadet Master Sergeant Holden Donohue, a freshman at C.G. Woodson High School, and Cadet Airman First Class Illia Shestiuk, a junior at C.G. Woodson High School. The Team Coach for the team is Second Lieutenant Caroline Ren and the Team Mentor is Technical Sergeant Jonathan Groff.
Reflecting on Cyber Patriot, Team Captain Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Zhang stated, “As much as CyberPatriot is about learning technical skills: finding malware, removing backdoors, and fixing vulnerabilities; the soft skills learned from the process are more valuable. It is more about being able to see the problem through to the end, to motivate and support each other through tough times, and to continuously challenge and improve skills and knowledge. Good teams turn into great teams through collaboration, passion, and perseverance.”
Team Coach, Second Lieutenant Caroline Ren stated, “These cadets have learned how to take on complex challenges with perseverance and teamwork, even with limited resources. Through that process, and with the support of their mentors, they’ve grown into leaders who are ready to serve their communities.”
About Virginia Wing
Civil Air Patrol's Virginia Wing is home to 21 squadrons spread throughout the Commonwealth and has approximately 2,250 members, 13 light aircraft, 6 small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), and 28 multi-mission vehicles. These assets are available to federal, state, and local governments, as well as to emergency responders and law enforcement agencies to perform search and rescue, homeland security, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, and counter-drug missions. For more information on Virginia Wing, visit the wing’s website at https://vawg.cap.gov.
About Civil Air Patrol
Founded in 1941 and established as the official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force seven years later, Civil Air Patrol is chartered by Congress as a nonprofit organization for the purposes of youth development, aerospace education, and to promote general aviation. In an auxiliary role as a Total Force partner of the Air Force, CAP operates the world’s largest fleet of single-engine aircraft for search and rescue, disaster relief, training, and education. Civil Air Patrol is dedicated to serving America’s communities, saving lives, and shaping futures.
For More Information:
Maj. Sara Demyanovich, va-130info @ vawg.cap.gov
