Military Review English Edition May-June 2016 | Page 118

cyber units and deliver
them to the CCMDs.
Another approach to
increase efficiency. A third
approach, separate from
the current DOD approach
or a wholly independent
cyber service, would involve promoting the current USCYBERCOM to
a functional CCMD, on
par with USSTRATCOM
or USSOCOM. Elevating
USCYBERCOM to a
CCMD would be an appropriate, and likely, intermediate step to establishing the
independent Cyber Force.
This could remove one of
the hierarchical layers between USCYBERCOM and
political decision makers.
Also, USSOCOM enjoys
(Photo courtesy of National Security Agency)
quite a bit of influence
U.S. Cyber Command is located in Fort Meade, Maryland, along with the headquarters of the
over the services’ developNational Security Agency and the Central Security Service.
ment of special operators.
However, this arrangement solves only part of the
unproven as a combat zone in the thinking of many
problem. As a CCMD, USCYBERCOM would still
senior security leaders. Second, in the absence of
be reliant on the existing services to conduct its
an obvious significant security threat, the national
operations. Cyberwarriors would still face the decisecurity resources required for such a major overhaul
sion of which of the services’ cyberspace pipelines to
will remain unavailable. The United States’ next major
navigate on their way to working in USCYBERCOM.
conflict will likely eliminate both hurdles.
This arrangement works for USSOCOM because the
Proving cyberspace is a battle space. The air
training for an Air Force AC-130 pilot is different
domain played a role in World War I. Observation
from that of a Navy SEAL, which is still different
balloons and dogfighting (aerial warfare à la the Red
from developing an Army Special Forces soldier, but
Baron) serve as the predominant aerial features of that
not so in cyberspace. A cyberspace operation is the
conflict. However, the combatants of World War II
same regardless of the physical domain from which it
truly grasped the significance of air superiority. The
is launched. The solution that provides the DOD with Battle of Britain, the allies’ strategic bombing campaign,
the best-staffed, -trained, and -equipped cyberspace
the advent of parachute units, and, ultimately, the
units is an independent cyberspace force.
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki all demonstrated
the importance of combat in the skies.
U.S. Cyber Force Establishment:
Currently, cyberspace resides in the type of limbo
After the Next War
status air power occupied during the interwar years.
With so many reasons supporting the establishNonetheless, there have been a few isolated instances of
ment of the U.S. Cyber Force, what is stopping it?
state-on-state cyberwarfare. In April 2007, Russia conThere are two major hurdles. First, cyberspace is still
ducted an effective denial-of-service attack on Estonia’s
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May-June 2016  MILITARY REVIEW