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The US Department of Defense rejects the reform of cyber structures.
The U.S. Department of Defense has asked lawmakers to reject a proposal to conduct an independent assessment of the creation of a separate cyber unit in the military. The request was sent to the House and Senate Armed Services committees as part of an initial package of "appeals" to the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bills for fiscal year 2025.
In addition, the Pentagon asked lawmakers to reject a proposal to give the Department of Defense's Joint Headquarters for Information Networks (JFHQ-DODIN) the status of a "subordinate joint command" within the US Cyber Command, similar to the Cyber National Force, which received such a promotion in 2022. JFHQ-DODIN is responsible for securing Pentagon networks around the world.
House and Senate officials are due to meet next week and begin negotiations on a final compromise version of the NDAA, which will be considered after Congress returns from the campaign trail in November.
The House of Representatives passed its version of the $895 billion defense policy bill in June. The Senate committee approved its version on the same day, but it did not get time to discuss it in plenary as the Democratic-controlled house prioritized the confirmation of nominees and judges nominated by the Biden administration.
Requests for changes to the bill are common practice during the NDAA Annual Conference process. However, the department's demand to exclude the study on the creation of cyber troops is likely to exacerbate tensions between lawmakers, who believe that independent expertise on the creation of a new branch of the armed forces is warranted, and the top leadership of the Pentagon, which has long resisted the prospect of creating a specialized cyber unit.
Representative Morgan Luttrell, a sponsor of the study amendment included in the House of Representatives' NDAA, expressed concern that the U.S. is not prepared to outdo its enemies in cyberspace. He also noted that the Pentagon's refusal to assess the feasibility of creating cyber troops is puzzling, given the need to ensure effective operations in cyberspace.
In its appeal, the department claims that Congress has already ordered an assessment of the current cyber enterprise and various models for training and equipping cyber personnel as part of the NDAA for fiscal year 2023. That study, known as the Section 1533 study, was scheduled to be presented to Congress on June 1. The Department of Defense entrusted the task to the RAND Corporation. However, while the think tank has completed its work, the agency will not make decisions based on the findings until June next year.
The Pentagon has also warned that unless the National Academies engages a research organization with national security credentials to conduct a study of cyber forces, it will have to rely on publicly available unclassified information, which will not provide a complete picture of the combat readiness problems that have plagued Cyber Command since its inception in 2010.
Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center for Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former executive director of the Congressional Cyberspace Commission, expressed concern about the Department of Defense's refusal to transparently address the issue. He compared the Pentagon's behavior to the actions of TikTok, when it denied the need for transparency under public pressure. Montgomery also suggested that the appeal could come from Cyber Command itself.
Earlier this year, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies published a study calling for the creation of a military service for cyber troops. It recommended that the unit be placed in the army, with 10,000 personnel and a budget of $16.5 billion.
The seriousness with which lawmakers view the Department of Defense's appeal usually depends on the specific issue and its legislative history. As for the cyber forces study, a similar provision was included in the Senate defense bill last year, but was eventually removed from the final legislation during negotiations with the House of Representatives.
Because the independent assessment was included in bills in both houses and enjoyed bipartisan support, with Luttrell in the House of Representatives and Kirsten Gillibrand in the Senate, the appeal could go unheeded and end up costing the department and Cyber Command significant political capital.
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The U.S. Department of Defense has asked lawmakers to reject a proposal to conduct an independent assessment of the creation of a separate cyber unit in the military. The request was sent to the House and Senate Armed Services committees as part of an initial package of "appeals" to the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bills for fiscal year 2025.
In addition, the Pentagon asked lawmakers to reject a proposal to give the Department of Defense's Joint Headquarters for Information Networks (JFHQ-DODIN) the status of a "subordinate joint command" within the US Cyber Command, similar to the Cyber National Force, which received such a promotion in 2022. JFHQ-DODIN is responsible for securing Pentagon networks around the world.
House and Senate officials are due to meet next week and begin negotiations on a final compromise version of the NDAA, which will be considered after Congress returns from the campaign trail in November.
The House of Representatives passed its version of the $895 billion defense policy bill in June. The Senate committee approved its version on the same day, but it did not get time to discuss it in plenary as the Democratic-controlled house prioritized the confirmation of nominees and judges nominated by the Biden administration.
Requests for changes to the bill are common practice during the NDAA Annual Conference process. However, the department's demand to exclude the study on the creation of cyber troops is likely to exacerbate tensions between lawmakers, who believe that independent expertise on the creation of a new branch of the armed forces is warranted, and the top leadership of the Pentagon, which has long resisted the prospect of creating a specialized cyber unit.
Representative Morgan Luttrell, a sponsor of the study amendment included in the House of Representatives' NDAA, expressed concern that the U.S. is not prepared to outdo its enemies in cyberspace. He also noted that the Pentagon's refusal to assess the feasibility of creating cyber troops is puzzling, given the need to ensure effective operations in cyberspace.
In its appeal, the department claims that Congress has already ordered an assessment of the current cyber enterprise and various models for training and equipping cyber personnel as part of the NDAA for fiscal year 2023. That study, known as the Section 1533 study, was scheduled to be presented to Congress on June 1. The Department of Defense entrusted the task to the RAND Corporation. However, while the think tank has completed its work, the agency will not make decisions based on the findings until June next year.
The Pentagon has also warned that unless the National Academies engages a research organization with national security credentials to conduct a study of cyber forces, it will have to rely on publicly available unclassified information, which will not provide a complete picture of the combat readiness problems that have plagued Cyber Command since its inception in 2010.
Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center for Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former executive director of the Congressional Cyberspace Commission, expressed concern about the Department of Defense's refusal to transparently address the issue. He compared the Pentagon's behavior to the actions of TikTok, when it denied the need for transparency under public pressure. Montgomery also suggested that the appeal could come from Cyber Command itself.
Earlier this year, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies published a study calling for the creation of a military service for cyber troops. It recommended that the unit be placed in the army, with 10,000 personnel and a budget of $16.5 billion.
The seriousness with which lawmakers view the Department of Defense's appeal usually depends on the specific issue and its legislative history. As for the cyber forces study, a similar provision was included in the Senate defense bill last year, but was eventually removed from the final legislation during negotiations with the House of Representatives.
Because the independent assessment was included in bills in both houses and enjoyed bipartisan support, with Luttrell in the House of Representatives and Kirsten Gillibrand in the Senate, the appeal could go unheeded and end up costing the department and Cyber Command significant political capital.
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