U.S. Cyber Command was born to fix a failure. In 2008, the U.S. military failed to detect Buckshot Yankee, a breach of its classified network. In response, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates tasked General Keith Alexander at the National Security Agency to establish and lead USCYBERCOM (Gates 2009). Since then, the Command has grown in size, authority, and autonomy. Its Cyber Mission Force achieved full operational capacity in 2018 and, shortly thereafter, the president delegated additional authorities to USCYBERCOM through the Secretary of Defense (CRS 2025). Congress has also increased its resources, given it greater control over budget and acquisitions, and expanded its freedom of action to conduct offensive and defensive cyberspace operations...
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