The Army is aiming to make its requirements documents and doctrine  the prototype for other services in cyberspace.

Maj. Gen. Patricia Frost, who leads the Army’s cyberspace directorate within the G-3/5/7 at the Pentagon, told an audience at TechNet Augusta that the Army is a leader both in defensive and offensive operations.

“Our documents are actually becoming the prototype for other services — how we have outlined the capabilities within the document and how we’re actually looking at defensive cyberspace operations and all the elements that are required to execute the operations,” she said. “So, what you do need at the tactical echelon and what you do need at the enterprise level, the defensive cyberspace tool.”

The Army’s requirement documents have gone to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to be validated, she said, noting that they bring in the acquisition community and understand what is needed from the operational force to understand what capabilities are required. “I haven’t seen the other services do it the way we are implementing this,” Frost said.

Frost said the offensive cyberspace war fighting platform is Army provided, adding that it wasn’t originally intended for this purpose but the Army in learning by doing, has repurposed it and is now able to support needed offensive operations.

From the defensive side, the Army has looked at what infrastructure is required for cyber protection teams to be able to maneuver and operate without interrupting the DoD Information Networks and Army day-to-day operations, should there be an intrusion requiring forensics work. This, Frost noted, is also ahead of the other services.

Frost was sure to note that from the individual war fighter level the training standards for the cyber mission force (the 133 teams that feed up to Cyber Command) are all the same as mandated by Cyber Command. However, the materiel solutions, the way in which forward capabilities and teams are equipped, strategy and requirements are ahead of the other services, she said.

[Here’s how DoD organizes its cyber warriors]

The Army was the first to create a cyber branch and, in addition to their contributions to the CMF, are looking at how to integrate cyber and electromagnetic effects into tactical maneuver formations.

[Here’s how cyber service component mission sets differ from CYBERCOM]

“So, as we go into the platforms of the future and the programs of the future, what we’re trying to drive within the joint staff is can the Army be the prototype,” Frost said.

[What is the Army doing to secure and defend its cyber terrain?]

Using defensive operations as an example, she said they would like to use the Army’s cyber protection brigade to be the prototype for the joint force because they believe the operations that the Army has performed day-to-day with the kit they’re using at the CPB is ahead of the other services.

Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, covering information warfare and cyberspace.

Share:
More In