The U.S. Army established a new program management office within its Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors (PEO IEW&S) to support its expanding cyber, information warfare, and tactical space missions.
The Army established the Project Management Cyber and Space (PM C&S) office to handle work on the Joint Common Access Platform for executing offensive operations and the Joint Development Environment, a space to rapidly develop and test cyber tools.
Christopher Green – former product manager for the joint battle command platform within the service’s PEO command, control, and communications-tactical – assumed responsibilities as project manager for the new cyber and space program office during a July 25 ceremony.
Green will provide technical and managerial oversight of the development, acquisition, fielding, and life cycle support of the Army’s portfolio of offensive cyber infrastructure and cyber tool development.
“We’ll be accomplishing this through extensive collaboration with our partners across the Federal government, Department of Defense, and industry. The Army has already been leaning forward for many years and has supported the operational cyber warfighting mission,” Green said.
The PM C&S office’s core mission will be to develop an environment that enables Army and joint offensive cyber operations to flourish, which is not a new concept for the service branch. As the world increasingly relies on digital technology, the significance of cybersecurity on the modern battlefield will only continue to grow, Green said.
In the next six to 12 months, PM C&S will continue focusing on recruitment of new talent, while still supporting key stakeholders.
In addition, according to a release, the move to establish the new office is a recognition of the Army’s contribution to joint cyber ops. The new office is within the IEW&S due to the amount of work the Army does on behalf of U.S. Cyber Command to deliver capabilities and programs for the cyber mission force across the military services.
“The days of the Army being a kinetic-only force are gone. Our ability to operate in multiple arenas has become paramount with none more important than mastering the cyber warfare arena … The speed in which you must operate in this environment [cyberspace] is crucial,” Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, PEO for IEW&S, said.
According to the Army, the emphasis on this domain is important, and this new office has the agility, the mechanisms, the processes in place, the workforce, and the culture to respond quickly.
“That’s why we felt that the emphasis on this domain is important and to stand up a dedicated organization based on that,” Barker said.
