An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

The Cyber Defense Review

 
Home > CDR Content > Articles > Article View

Necessary Audacity: A Case for a U.S. Cyber Academy

By Chris Arney | March 30, 2017

PRINT

On March 21, 2017, Foreign Policy published an article by Dr. Mark Hagerott and Admiral (Ret.) James Stravridis entitled “Trump’s Big Defense Buildup Should Include a National Cyber Academy.” The authors recommended “the creation of something audaciously different but critical to winning the wars of the future: a U.S. cyber academy.” They explicitly endorse a national cyber service academy much like the US Military Academy (USMA), Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy. Their case is made from the historical perspective that service academies were formed in a time of need and crisis for the nation and its military services. The authors see a similar requirement in cyber operations in today’s unsettled world. They also advocate for a similar model of service academy recruitment with a broad-based education and 5-year commitment. The one difference would be the parent organization would be the Department of Homeland Security and not the Department of Defense as is the case for the current service academies.

I am teaching a course to cadets at USMA entitled “Networks for Cyber Operations”, and had my senior-year cadets read and discuss the Foreign Policy article in class. We had a lively discussion, where the cadets presented many ideas about the why, how, when, and what of this proposal. I hope they comment on this post so you can read some of their ideas.

 I must admit that in addition to providing needed talent and skills to the Army’s operational units, I have wanted the recent establishment of a cyber branch to give the Army culture a boost in intellectual and technical perspective. Currently, USMA can produce 15 graduates per year that enter the Cyber branch. This small cadre of officers joins with another 15 or so ROTC 2LTs to form the new entrants into the branch. We need many more new officers than this to provide the cyber security we need in the Army and to make that cultural shift in the entire service. Hagerott’s and Stravridis’ proposal provides that boost in cyber talent for the military services and the rest of government and contributes to a much-needed awakening for the national security community to the imminent cyber threat.

 I have advocated for several years that our service academies should enroll students who would serve in other branches of the government, such as the State and Energy Departments. Perhaps this new cyber service academy proposal will foster alternative ideas to educate and motivate our talented young people to prepare themselves to enter government service and make for a better and safer world.

PRINT


US Army Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. Army reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The Army and the Army alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the Army, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying Army endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

Army does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. Army may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. Army does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Army or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.

Help & Support

Resources

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil Veterans Crisis Line