The Army is realigning its Chief Information Officer/G-6 position into two separate roles, a CIO to serve as a principal adviser to the service secretary and a deputy chief of staff (DCS) to focus on network communication issues.

The reorganization is set to take effect by the end of August.

Lt. Gen. Bruce T. Crawford, the U.S. Army Chief Information Officer, talked to senior leaders from all three components in the U.S. Army during the U.S. Army Reserve Chief Information Officer/Signal Workshop in the Office of the Chief of the Army Reserve on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, May 14-15, 2019.  (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Stephanie Ramirez)

“The Army views data as a strategic asset and this separation of functions will better focus the responsibilities, policies and programs necessary to enable the Army to transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age,” the Army wrote in a statement. “To the greatest extent possible, these objectives will be accomplished using the assets within the existing force structure.”

The new CIO role will serve as the Army’s “information policy creator” and advise the secretary on information resource management and information technology.

The separate DCS G-6 position will be filled by a three-star general and is tasked with implementing the CIOo’s policies, as well as serving as the principal military adviser for Army network matters.

Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford currently serves as the Army CIO/G-6 and is set to leave the role in August.