The Defense Department will not separate cyber issues into a separate armed service branch in the near term because it is trying to build on department strength and not take too many organizational jumps at once, Defense Secretary Ashton Cater said on Friday.
“We have asked ourselves that over time, and there may come a time when that makes sense,” Carter said at Fort Meade, Md., while making statements thanking the U.S. Cyber Command workforce.
Cyber Command is the first step in a journey that may eventually lead to a separate branch of service similar to how the Army Air Corps evolved into the Air Force, Carter said.
Photo: U.S. Department of Defense.
He also compared Cyber Command to Special Operations Command–it was created separately, but still has service components.
Carter explained that the department will not separate cyber components without careful examination. It is trying to get the best outcome and hundreds of years of tradition, recruiting, and training will not be overlooked.
“For right now we’re walking before we run. But it may–that’s one of the futures that cyber might have.”
Carter highlighted that NSA and Cyber Command are co-located at Fort Meade because the department could not afford to create a new, similarly-oriented facility. Sharing personnel was also necessary upon creation.
The relationship between both is a work in progress. “We’re working out that relationship. My view is we’re doing the right thing and having the leadership of those two organizations be in the same place.”
“One way of thinking about that is we just don’t have enough good people like you to just spread around. We need to cluster our hits as a country. And that’s one of the reasons we’re going to keep these two together, at least for now. ”
Carter also spoke to the need to recruit and retain a younger set of cybersecurity workers–how the department “needs to be open to a new generation.” Younger generations that grew up with the current technology need to be attracted to the cyber missions.
“I want you to know that in addition to thinking through how you’re organized and so forth, a big priority of mine is going to be to make sure that you’re getting the training and the equipment and the resources that you need. This is a very high priority area.”
The cyber skillset and professional orientation does not easily fit into the traditional armed services, but a way will be found to incorporate those skills, Carter said.
Despite sequestration “which is a terrible, stupid thing that we are doing to ourselves–I have nothing good to say about it,” the cyber mission area is one that the department cannot afford not to keep investing in, Carter said.
When asked what his top priority was in a budget constrained environment, Carter said it is foremost Defense Department personnel. “That’s got to be number one because that’s what makes our military the greatest in the world.”
Carter noted the development of the cyber workforce can be a model throughout the department. It’s freshness of approach, constant effort to reinvent and demand is useful.
“So we’re looking to you, in a sense, as a model and as a trailblazer for many other things we need in the department. One of the things that I’ve said I’m determined to bring to our department is openness to new ideas. That’s the only way that we’re going to remain what we are today, which is the greatest fighting force the world has ever known.”