To integrate cyber, the Army is learning by doing

By: Mark Pomerleau

Source Link

The Army is taking the old adage of "learning by doing" to heart. As the Army looks to integrate cyber capabilities into its broader operational construct of land and air battle — as well as converging cyberspace activity with signal and electronic warfare — it is undertaking a series of tests and experiments to develop doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures for the future.

During a media round table with C4ISRNET at the annual Association of the United States Army conference, the deputy to the commanding general of Army Cyber Command, Ronald Pontius, said the service is "working at Army Cyber Command and parts of our Training and Doctrine Command and Forces Command; we’re running a series of pilots or experiments at our combat training centers,” noting that two took place last year at Fort Polk and two this year at the National Training Center.

"It’s really [about] how do we integrate signal, cyber, and electronic warfare and information operations at the brigade combat team level, really looking” at what the capabilities are for a brigade combat team and how to assist the signal officer’s role at this level, how to operate and defend capabilities, and how to take cyberspace defensive and offensive capabilities to fold into this construct, he said.

The Army is working toward a doctrine for this with two more experiments in 2017 to inform the way ahead, he added.

The new commander of the Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon, Maj. Gen. John Morrison, at AUSA described how he is looking into cyber, electromagnetic spectrum and signal, and how important their integration is for future operations.

Pontius noted how other recent exercises this year such as Cyber Blitz and Cyber Quest sought to examine electromagnetic integration within a broader context.

Army Cyber Command’s commander, Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, hit at what some of these exercises can really do for the broader Army. Programs such as Cyber Support to Corps and Below, which aims to integrate cyber forces and capabilities into traditional Army land operation units, provide greater understanding to commanders of all stripes. Cyber Support to Corps and Below exposes commanders to cyber capabilities, with some saying: “I didn’t know I could do that,” Cardon told reporters at the conference this week. Once commanders understand this, Cardon added, cyber can be more widely incorporated.