NobleReach™️’s Post

"Assessing the Army’s Cyber Force Structure" – The skill and capacity of Army cyber forces have grown in the decade since their creation. This article focuses on needed structural changes to the Army’s portion of the Cyber Mission Forces. This assessment of the current situation highlights the areas military leadership must address to allow the Army’s cyber forces to continue evolving to meet the needs of multi-domain operations. https://lnkd.in/dhy-H_RM

It's time for a special weekend edition of #unpopularopinion: Don't rest on your laurels; they aren't comfy in the first place. Well, it is official: I have earned the Military Emergency Management Specialist (#MEMS) badge and designation as part of my duties with the Louisiana State Guard Cyber Reserve. One of the things impressed upon me as a young Airman was to never stop learning. That same mentality carried me through being an NCO, SNCO, and now a Warrant Officer, as well as my post-military life as an individual contributor and leader. One of the things I love about cyber is that it has the same service mentality as the military; we are here to do good. that requires us to do better. BL: Never ask anyone to do something you aren't willing to do—and, more importantly, actually do it yourself. That means leading from the front and having your actions speak louder than your words. #unpopularopinionguy

This Armed Forces Day, Dobbs Defense Solutions gives a heartfelt thanks to the service members of the U.S. Military for their patriotic service to our nation. We celebrate their courage, their sacrifice, and their dedication. As a service-disabled veteran owned business, we are highly aware of the importance of the military in our country and affirm our support for the members of our military, veterans, and their families today and every day. Today, we highlight the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), which unifies all branches of the U.S. Military to direct cyberspace operations, strengthen the United States Department of Defense's cyberspace capabilities, and integrate and enhance DoD's cyber expertise. USCYBERCOM not only defends our country’s cyber key terrain but also supports ongoing military missions and bolsters our ability to withstand and respond to cyberattacks. In our ever-changing world, cybersecurity is a cornerstone of national security. We salute and celebrate the proud men and women of USCYBERCOM today and always. #thinkd2s #ArmedForcesDay #MilitaryAppreciationMonth #sdvosb #vosb #cybersecurity Erica Dobbs

The current model for military services providing forces to U.S. Cyber Command is broken, and the only way to fix it is to create an independent Cyber Force, a new report asserts. “America’s cyber force generation system is clearly broken. Fixing it demands nothing less than the establishment of an independent cyber service,” a report published Monday by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies states. “This research paints an alarming picture. The inefficient division of labor between the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps prevents the generation of a cyber force ready to carry out its mission. Recruitment suffers because cyber operations are not a top priority for any of the services … The current system compounds these force-generation challenges. Each of the services has developed its own solutions, leading to both inconsistencies and shortcomings.” https://lnkd.in/gNbKnBC5

The current model for military services providing forces to U.S. Cyber Command is broken, and the only way to fix it is to create an independent Cyber Force, a new report asserts. “America’s cyber force generation system is clearly broken. Fixing it demands nothing less than the establishment of an independent cyber service,” a report published Monday by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies states. “This research paints an alarming picture. The inefficient division of labor between the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps prevents the generation of a cyber force ready to carry out its mission. Recruitment suffers because cyber operations are not a top priority for any of the services … The current system compounds these force-generation challenges. Each of the services has developed its own solutions, leading to both inconsistencies and shortcomings.” https://lnkd.in/et3NxaTB

I agree with many of the points in this report. I think we will ultimately have a Cyber Force, a 7th military service. Of note, some of the keys to enabling such a service will be to: - understand more about what it means when the “front lines” are a keyboard - question whether we need discrete labor types (civilian, officer, enlisted)…probably need only one type - question the need to be in a uniform, wear boots, etc (May only need to take an oath) - provide specific developmental and professional military education opportunities for cyber - provide abundant remote work opportunities - provide special capability acquisition authorities and processes for IT/software (gotta stop building software like battleships!) Bartley Stewart Nate Schuler Jason Lamb

Interesting Read.

💙 Thank you Dr. Ron Ross for contributing to our UAH Distinguished Lecture Series. “At West Point we were studying tank warfare in Europe while Vietnam was going on,” Ross, a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army, explained. “We’re always fighting the last war. But the world has changed dramatically, especially in the last 10 years. How do we change our current cybersecurity strategy? We have 50 years of experience on this problem. The biggest threat today is system complexity. Complexity theory dominates everything. How much trust can you put into a system? How are those functions built? When you have trillions of lines of code, it’s amazing how well it does work.” Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ewpp2c2Y

The current model for military services providing forces to U.S. Cyber Command is broken, and the only way to fix it is to create an independent Cyber Force, a new report asserts. “America’s cyber force generation system is clearly broken. Fixing it demands nothing less than the establishment of an independent cyber service,” a report published Monday by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies states. “This research paints an alarming picture. The inefficient division of labor between the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps prevents the generation of a cyber force ready to carry out its mission. Recruitment suffers because cyber operations are not a top priority for any of the services … The current system compounds these force-generation challenges. Each of the services has developed its own solutions, leading to both inconsistencies and shortcomings.” https://lnkd.in/esd7X_eS

You are most likely never to see a hospital or law firm headed by someone other than a former lawyer or doctor, but cyber, for some reason, lets anyone lead their units. You might say that great leaders can surround themselves with competent professionals, and their leadership skills will prevail. But history has told a different story, with countless Government breaches and billions of dollars spent on ineffective or duplicative software. How does this affect things? Well, most cyber PM shops are transitory, where civilians and officers come to finish off a career or just sit long enough to get some awards and retire. There is nothing wrong with that, but the chance that someone can come in and recognize dysfunction, ineffectiveness, or, in some cases, even corruption is very small. And then there is the mission; with no relevant cyber or engineering skills or background, how does a leader measure the effectiveness of their OA? Better yet, how do they improve things for the warfighter? Cyber is too important to treat as just an "IT" function. It is the culmination of almost every engineering skill and the ability to break or defend. Our warfighters deserve better.