Building a Capable Cyber Force

Army and Marine Corps leaders are working on building capable cyber forces that don’t just react to emergency situations. To do that, there needs to be a “significant change in the mindset to operational cyber,” said Army Col. Timothy Chafos, chief of the land service’s strategic initiatives, during a joint cyber panel last week at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla. He added, “We need to move beyond emergency response to defending in real time.” Col. Steve Zotti, Marine Forces Cyber Command’s chief of staff, said his service faces three main challenges within its cyber organization, which stood up on Oct. 1, 2009—exactly one year before Army Cyber Command’s activation. First, he said, it needs to “get full-spectrum cyber planners” with expertise in various cyber lanes. Second, the Corps needs to “build an offensive cyber capacity,” said Zotti. Third, it should look at new ways to educate and train its cyber force.