Cyberspace operations are central to today's complex operational environment and an essential element of the Army's strategic priorities for a modern Army. To help the Army maintain its operational and technological advantage, on land and in cyberspace, the Army established Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) in 2010 as the Army component to U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and its integrator for cyberspace operations. Now in our fourth year of operations, we have gained tremendous momentum operationalizing, integrating and synchronizing Army cyberspace operations, and enabling Mission Command. During FY2014, we achieved three critical objectives supporting these efforts: met critical milestones building the Army's Cyber Mission Force; enhanced Army defensive cyberspace operation capabilities; and maintained support to Combatant and Army commanders.
Department of Defense (DoD) and Army decisions furthered these efforts. In 2012, DoD directed the stand up of Cyber Mission Forces, directing the Army to stand up 41 of 133 Cyber Mission Teams. In 2013, USCYBERCOM and the Army directed ARCYBER to stand up Joint Force Headquarters -- Cyber providing mission command to cyber forces and cyberspace capabilities directly supporting three combatant commands. In addition, Department of the Army General Order 2014-2 directed the Commanding General of Army Cyber Command, an Army Force Component Headquarters, be dual-hatted as Commanding General of Second Army, and assigned the Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) to Second Army to further improve unity of effort in cyberspace operations.
Creating a powerful capability in a central location, the Army announced the decision to station ARCYBER Headquarters and the Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber at Fort Gordon, Georgia near the National Security Agency's Georgia facility. Other major decisions included establishing the Cyber Center of Excellence (Cyber COE) at Fort Gordon and transferring Cyber Proponency from ARCYBER to the Cyber COE. Fort Gordon will emerge as the Army's center for cyberspace operations increasing the Army's unity of effort and command within this warfighting domain.
Building the Army's Cyber Mission Force
At the direction of the Joint Staff and USCYBERCOM, the Services are collectively building 133 Cyber Mission Force teams, four Joint Force Headquarters -- Cyber, and one Cyber National Mission Force to an initial operating capability by the end of FY 2016. The Army's 41 teams include Cyber Protection Teams (CPTs), Cyber Combat Mission Teams (CMTs) and Combat Support Teams (CSTs) as well as National Mission Teams (NMTs) and their complementary National Support Teams (NSTs). The Army's cyber force is a Total Army force. In addition to active forces, the Army National Guard (ARNG) and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) will build cyber combat power with additional force structure coming on line starting in FY 2016. The ARNG activated one Title 10 CPT, and will eventually have 10 additional Title 32 CPTs. The USAR is also transforming the Army Reserve Information Operations Command into the Army Reserve Cyber Operations Group, which will field 10 additional CPTs.
Improving Army Defensive Cyberspace Operation Capabilities
During 2014, ARCYBER, through NETCOM and in coordination with the CIO/G6, improved the Army's defensive cyberspace capabilities through enhancements to Army networks and operational capabilities. In advance of the Joint Information Environment (JIE), the Army created a more defendable network architecture through the Joint Enabling Capabilities (JEC) project, a new architecture-sharing plan with the Air Force and the Defense Information Systems Agency designed to increase bandwidth and network security while cutting costs. The JEC technologies improve network security, reliability, performance, and scalability, providing increased capacity on demand by increasing the backbone bandwidth to 100 gigabytes per second while also facilitating enhanced enterprise services. These upgrades will also improve cyber-situational awareness through greater network visibility, diagnostics, and mitigation leading to a more defendable and agile network. While upgrading our current network and security infrastructure, the Army will reduce network vulnerabilities by decreasing Internet interface points from 400 to only 15.
Army Cyber Command also improved global network defense with the creation of Regional Cyber Centers (RCC). The RCCs combine the "operate, maintain and defend" functions of each of the former Theater Network Operations and Security Centers (T-NOSCs) and the Regional Computer Emergency Response Teams (RCERTS) under a streamlined command structure. Located in Southwest Asia, Europe, Hawaii, Korea and Arizona, the RCCs are the focal points for theater cyberspace operations, delivering cyberspace capabilities to the Army, synchronizing with Sister Service cyber units in each theater, and supporting the geographic combatant commands.
Supporting Combatant and Army Commanders
Ensuring our Combatant and Army commanders maintain the freedom to operate in cyberspace is paramount to our Army and to mission success. Today, we must look at the network as a warfighting platform and a force multiplier across the five warfighting domains. The network provides the Army warfighter with superior technological overmatch, and access to Logistics, Intelligence, Fires, and other enablers. Cyberspace operations continue to enhance Mission Command by building, operating, and defending DoD Information Networks, increasing network redundancy, security, and resilience. Cyberspace operations also helped our forces extend into the battlespace and broaden collaboration within the Joint Force and with our partners and Allies, while enhancing mission command for our commanders.
An important part of supporting our Combatant and Army commanders is preparing our forces to operate in a degraded cyberspace environment. Our Cyber Opposing Force continued to integrate with the Opposing Forces at the Combat Training Centers. Additionally, ARCYBER worked with U.S. Army Forces Command to incorporate Cyber Threat Emulation Support to its Mission Command Assessment Team (MCAT) program. The enhanced MCAT team's goal is to expose units to near-real-world cyber threats, providing opportunities to train on detection, response, and mitigation actions before encountering the Cyber Opposing Force during rotations. As result of the experience the Cyber Mission Force, Joint Force Headquarters -- Cyber and ARCYBER gained providing cyber capabilities to combatant commands, in particular, lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan, ARCYBER is working with subordinate commands to develop deployable and trained cyber forces to support tactical forces. Army Cyber Command is working to integrate some of these capabilities into tactical operations at the Combat Training Center along with the Cyber Opposing Forces we already provide.
Goals for the Coming Year
For 2015, ARCYBER's important goals include improving three critical aspects of the cyberspace mission: people, operations, and processes. People are the centerpiece for the Cyber domain. We are building an elite force of trusted and disciplined cyberspace professionals. The Army cyber workforce is expanding and we are making progress in recruiting, managing, and retaining cyber personnel -- both military and civilian. The Army is developing the Cyber Electromagnetic Branch and recently established a provisional Cyber Electromagnetic (CEM) cell to track and manage Army cyber forces. This provisional Career Management Team consolidates enlisted, warrant officer and officer management and combines functional or designation focus with an organizational focus. The CEM cell consolidates and manages the efforts of the entire Army cyber population including different Military Occupational Specialties. The Army is now tracking qualified Soldiers awarded a non-MOS specific cyber Additional Skill Identifier (ASI) of "E4", based on the Soldier's skills and experience to help the Human Resource Command manage cyber assignments. The Army is identifying the right Soldiers from all Military Occupational Specialties and Branches as we focus on developing the Cyber Force as a Total Army force, integrating Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers and units. Having trained and ready forces to meet the needs of our Combatant and Army commanders is our first priority. The RC is an essential part of the Army's cyber force and we continue to develop strategies and manning processes that capitalize on the unique strengths and skills the RC brings to cyberspace operations.
Army Cyber Command is pursuing ways to bring "Big Data" capabilities to Army operations to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of information for decision-makers and improve our cyber defenses. We are reinforcing the need for commanders to establish strong compliance and inspection programs focusing on continuous network monitoring, securing against insider threats, and refining programs of record. We will continue to improve our defensive cyber operations, make our networks harder to penetrate while relentlessly tracking and removing cyber threats to ensure freedom of action in cyberspace.
We are working with HQDA to develop and implement an improved cyber resourcing strategy to ensure we can deliver cyberspace capabilities to our commanders and national decision-makers in a timely manner. We will strengthen our relationship with the Army's Cyber COE as one of our most fundamental partners, critical for developing cyberspace doctrine and requirements across the institutional Army.
Two thousand fourteen was a watershed year for Army Cyber Command. Critical decisions on stationing, organization, and mission command are building even greater momentum. It's an exciting time to be part of Army cyberspace operations. The challenges are surpassed by the opportunities before us. As we continue to move ahead we will remember that people come first. Processes and technologies change, but it is the people who organize capabilities in time and space to accomplish missions. How we do this in a continuously contested and competitive domain will be our legacy. The Soldiers and Civilians of ARCYBER are up to the challenge.
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