1st Information Operations Command battalion inactivates

By Sgt. 1st Class Kyle AlvarezDecember 10, 2024

Lt. Col. Matthew Maness, commander of 2nd Battalion (Red Team), 1st Information Operations Command (Land) (center), and battalion Sgt. Maj. Edwin Hernandez (left), case the battalion colors during the ceremony inactivating the unit, at Fort...
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lt. Col. Matthew Maness, commander of 2nd Battalion (Red Team), 1st Information Operations Command (Land) (center), and battalion Sgt. Maj. Edwin Hernandez (left), case the battalion colors during the ceremony inactivating the unit, at Fort Belvoir, Va., Dec. 9, 2024. The battalion was activated on Fort Belvoir in 2006 and will formally inactivate on Dec. 31, 2024 with its mission transitioning to the Army Cyber Protection Brigade at Fort Eisenhower, Ga. (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Alvarez) VIEW ORIGINAL
Col. Willie Rodney, commander of 1st Information Operations Command (Land), speaks to attendees at the ceremony inactivating the command’s 2nd Battalion (Red Team), at Fort Belvoir, Va., Dec. 9, 2024. The battalion will formally inactivate on...
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Col. Willie Rodney, commander of 1st Information Operations Command (Land), speaks to attendees at the ceremony inactivating the command’s 2nd Battalion (Red Team), at Fort Belvoir, Va., Dec. 9, 2024. The battalion will formally inactivate on Dec. 31, 2024 with its mission transitioning to the Army Cyber Protection Brigade at Fort Eisenhower, Ga. (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Alvarez) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BELVOIR, Va. – The 2nd Battalion (Red Team), 1st Information Operations Command, was inactivated in a ceremony here, Dec. 9, 2024.

This ceremony is the first step in U.S. Army Cyber Command’s (ARCYBER) 1st Information Operations Command (Land) plan to fully inactivate by fiscal year 2025 and fully transition to Multi-Domain Operations by 2030.

“We are literally closing the book on this battalion and now penning the next book in the series,” said battalion commander Lt. Col. Matthew W. Maness. “That’s what today is about, transition, not closure.”

The unit’s mission to conduct threat emulation and multi-functional security assessments to improve readiness and resilience of Army and DoD networks against sophisticated advisory attacks will transition to U.S. Army Cyber Command's Cyber Protection Brigade at Fort Eisenhower, Ga.

The history of the unit and its mission has evolved since its activation October 15, 2006. Originally, the Army activated battalion to protect the Army’s vital computer networks and to gain and maintain information dominance throughout cyberspace.

The 2nd Battalion ceremony marks one of the first steps in the shutdown of the Army’s only active-duty information operations command. The 1st IO Command is expected to inactivate in 2025 as part of the Army’s plan to fully transition to multi-domain operations by 2030. The inactivation supports the progression from information operations to information advantage activities as the Army constructs new, theater-based information superiority units.

The battalion will fully inactivate on December 31, 2024.

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ABOUT U.S. ARMY CYBER COMMAND: U.S. Army Cyber Command integrates and conducts cyberspace operations, electromagnetic warfare, and information operations, ensuring decision dominance and freedom of action for friendly forces in and through the cyber domain and the information dimension, while denying the same to our adversaries.

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