The Defense Department may someday have its own cyber unified combatant command like U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), but it is not ready for that at this time, according to the Pentagon’s number two civilian.
“It may come to that someday, (but) we’re not at that point yet,” Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told an audience yesterday at a Center for a New American Security conference in Washington.
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| Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Photo: DoD. |
Joint Publication 1 defines a unified combatant command as a command with broad continuing missions under a single commander and composed of significant assigned components of two or more military departments. A unified combatant command is also established and designated by the president through the defense secretary with the advice and assistance of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Currently, U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), led by Army Gen. Keith Alexander, is a sub-unified command subordinate to U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM). Service elements include Army Cyber Command, Air Force Cyber Command, Fleet Cyber Command and Marine Forces Cyber Command.
Part of its activation as a new unified command in 1987, USSOCOM received unique responsibilities, according to the command’s website. USSOCOM is not dependent on any of the individual services for its budget or to develop and buy new equipment or supplies. It has its own budgetary authority and its own acquisition authorities.
Carter said DoD is not yet ready for a stand-alone cyber service because it is trying to attract, retain and make the best use of cyber talent it already has. Carter said when DoD set out to create its cyber force, it had that option of a unified combatant command, but ruled against it for personnel retention purposes.
“I don’t rule out that, over time, we may decide to combine all of that into something that would be like SOCOM for cyber,” Carter said. “At the moment, we’re not going to take that leap.
“We could have made it ‘inherently joint,’” Carter said. “We have not done that.”
Carter said DoD has three missions for its cyber forces: defend its own networks; develop, deploy and prepare to employ cyber weapons and play its part in defending the nation’s cyber network.
Alexander disclosed in March that DoD is creating and treating its core set of teams that would operate in cyber space, with responsibilities for both offensive and defensive operations, as part of the Pentagon’s cyber space strategy issued in 2011. Alexander described them as analogous to battalions in the Army and Marine Corps or to squadrons in the Navy and Air Force, capable of operating on their own with a range of operational and intelligence skill sets as well as a mix of military and civilian personnel (Defense Daily, March 13).