CybersecurityU.S. Army creates a Cyber branch
Soldiers who want to defend the nation in cyberspace, as part of the U.S. Army’s newest and most technologically advanced career field, now have an Army branch to join that will take its place alongside infantry, artillery, and the other Army combat arms branches. Army Secretary John McHugh and Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno approved the creation of the Cyber branch in September. “The establishment of a Cyber Branch shows how important and critical the cyber mission is to our Army, and allows us to focus innovative recruiting, retention, leader development, and talent management needed to produce world-class cyberspace professionals,” said Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, the commanding general of Army Cyber Command.
The insignia of the U.S. Army cyber command // Source: army.mil
Soldiers who want to defend the nation in cyberspace, as part of the U.S. Army’s newest and most technologically advanced career field, now have an Army branch to join that will take its place alongside infantry, artillery and the other Army combat arms branches.
Army Secretary John McHugh and Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno approved the creation of the Cyber branch in September, as one of the first official steps in establishing a 17-series career field specifically dedicated to managing the careers and professional development of officers. The remainder of the 17-series career field management program is expected to be implemented by October 2015, with both enlisted and warrant officer career paths.
“This is a historic development for our Army, for the soldiers who are already defending the nation in cyberspace, and for those who will do so in years to come,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen G. Fogarty, commanding general of the Cyber Center of Excellence. “Creation of the Cyber branch acknowledges the critical role that our cyber warriors play in the armed forces of today and tomorrow, and it will provide us with the structure to make certain that the highly skilled Soldiers who are selected for these positions are well-trained, professionally developed and appropriately assigned.”
The Army says that to support these goals, both the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence, or CoE, at Fort Gordon, and the Human Resources Command created personnel career management and proponent offices to lead and shape the future development of this new Army career field.
“The establishment of a Cyber Branch shows how important and critical the cyber mission is to our Army, and allows us to focus innovative recruiting, retention, leader development, and talent management needed to produce world-class cyberspace professionals,” said Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, the commanding general of Army Cyber Command.
Cyber CoE officials say the U.S. military networks evolved from providing communication systems and services to a warfighting weapons system. All of cyberspace is now considered a warfighting domain and an operational environment in which the Defense Department will conduct cyberspace operations. This new warfighting domain brings the need for a new type of Soldier capable of understanding cyberspace as an operational environment, just as an infantryman understands the land domain and a pilot the air domain.
