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Government
Army Creating Cyber Units With Soldiers, Civilians
2015-09-01
[Mil.com/Stars and Stripes] YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- The Army is looking for soldiers and civilians to serve in new cyber units charged with protecting critical stateside infrastructure and creating "effects" on the battlefield in support of conventional forces. The challenge: Attracting the creative, energetic talent typically drawn to the freewheeling tech sector.

Army Cyber Command has about 20 teams in place, out of the 41 that it hopes to form by the end of next year, said Command Sgt. Maj. Rodney Harris, an adviser to Army Cyber Command and its commander, Lt. Gen. Edward C. Cardon.

Cyber protection teams harden key networks, mitigate risk and hunt for intruders. Other teams protect critical infrastructure, support commanders on the battlefield, analyze intelligence and develop software, Harris said.

Recruiters are hoping to tap into some of the energy that has helped Silicon Valley lead the world in information technology. However, it's unclear whether the Army can provide an environment compatible with the techies whose skills have made Google, Microsoft and Apple household names. A different sort of soldier will need to be recruited to fight in "a seriously nontraditional" space, said Arizona State University engineering professor Braden Allenby.

The challenge for recruiters is twofold. They need to attract skilled techies to the military, then make sure they don't trigger an "immune response" from the more traditional military organizations they need to work with, Allenby said.

The Army has been building its cyber force since 2010, and Harris said the goal is to recruit 1,899 cyber workers -- its share of 6,000 employees under the umbrella of the Defense Department's Cyber Command.

The Army's cyber teams are scheduled to be fully staffed by the end of next year, though it will take longer to complete training, said Capt. Micah Bushouse, who works for Army Cyber Command's advanced concepts and technology section.

Bushouse, whose job is to ensure cyber soldiers have the funding and gear they need, has a telecommunications degree from Michigan State University and spent nine years as a signal officer before joining Army Cyber Command.
Posted by:Besoeker

#12  This problem is a real thing. Here is how we (the Government) is trying to solve it.

The National Guard is working now to bring in weekend warriors as the cyber leaders for the armed forces, because they have real paying jobs most of the time. And when the SHTF then they can be brought in to fix things.

I am not going to blow sunshine up your skirt and say this is a good thing, but it is better than a no-thing, which is what we have had for the last decade.
Posted by: rammer   2015-09-01 23:10  

#11  Why not a separate branch? These do not fit into any traditional military service, which are by nature combat oriented. It need to be more along the lines of the Coast Guard mixed with the NSA. No reason to put these thru boot camp or other traditional forms of military discipline.

Use the Army people who can operate in both cultures for the liaison and possib C&C function to coordinate physical and cyber operations and actions against his tiles.
Posted by: OldSpook   2015-09-01 21:51  

#10  ...are we stuck on stupid by lawyers?

Yes.
Posted by: Ebbart Glererong5900   2015-09-01 20:21  

#9  I remember discussions in D.C. about CNA (Computer Network Attack) capabilities back in 2002. Anyone doing anything along those lines, or as P2K indicates, are we stuck on stupid by lawyers ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2015-09-01 18:39  

#8  1. The labs went off the rails to 'discover' new means of killing time and money when defense shrunk. So, when you do have an issue of cyber security, they aren't there in the force that's needed to address the issue. Misallocation of resources.

2. Get the damn lawyers out of the loop and go on the offensive.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2015-09-01 17:21  

#7  What's wrong for welfare for the gifted? IMO, beats the hell of investing most in the worst.

I always kinda wondered that myself. See also...Military leaders warn U.S. is falling behind in cybersecurity
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2015-09-01 16:15  

#6  Just like everything else the government sticks it fingers in. You get more of what you subsidize causing distortions in resource distribution. It's all fun(d) and games, till other people's money runs out.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2015-09-01 16:09  

#5  Then you get the other problem. They become 'welfare' for the gifted.

But first, they've delivered.

p.s. What's wrong for welfare for the gifted? IMO, beats the hell of investing most in the worst.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2015-09-01 15:38  

#4  
Posted by:    2015-09-01 15:34  

#3  They do that with the National Laboratories(Livermore, Los Alamos, Aragonne, et al). Civil Service couldn't pay enough to attract 'smart people' for DoD tech (and nuke) research in the post WWII period, so they set up the laboratories as contractors to the government. Then you get the other problem. They become 'welfare' for the gifted. You down size the military massively for whom their existence was an excuse and you keep all the laboratories.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2015-09-01 15:09  

#2  Think higher salaries.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2015-09-01 14:40  

#1  Trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. The mentality and profile of the cyber types does not fit the 18th Century military social order. Nor does it fit the institutional structure of routine reassignment, 'professional' development, and 'up or out' personal management of the place. You have to remember the Los Alamos crew were 'bright' civilians and while the senior management and administration team was in uniform, the workers were not. Think charter schools vs public school. Think Freikorps rather than line units.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2015-09-01 10:29  

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