Cybercom To Become DoD’s 10th Unified Combatant Command
In August, the President of the United States announced that he had directed U.S. Cyber Command to be elevated to a unified combatant command. Tomorrow, it will be official.
Cyber Command is being established as a unified combatant command May 4 during a ceremony at the Integrated Cyber Center/Joint Operations Center on Fort Meade, Maryland. It will also double as a change of command ceremony for its new leader, Army Lt. Gen Paul M. Nakasone, whose new assignment comes with a promotion to four-star general.
Until the elevation, U.S. Cyber Command is a sub-unified command established in 2009 under U.S. Strategic Command. It has since grown significantly, as has the Defense Department’s cyber strategy. Now, Cybercom will be at the same level as Stratcom and the other unified combatant commands.
The move reflects the increase in cybersecurity threats from across the globe, recognized by the DoD in the National Defense Strategy. In 2004, the DoD officially recognized cyberspace as a warfighting domain.
So what, exactly, does this elevation do? It means the department is being reorganized under a single commander.
http:// www.dodlive.mil/2018/05/03/cybercom-to-become-dods-10th-unified-combatant-command/
Navy Adm. Mike Rogers, Cybercom’s current commander, is retiring after 37 years of service. When Nakasone takes command at Cybercom, his position will be considered equal to that of other combatant commanders, and he’ll be able to report directly to Defense Secretary James Mattis.