Army Wants to Focus on Cyber Expected Service to Attract More Talent

Christine Wormuth, the secretary of the Department of the Army, said there should be a focus on the Department of Defense’s Cyber Expected Service authorities to attract cybersecurity talent.

Speaking before the House Appropriations Committee, Wormuth told lawmakers that six years after Congress granted the Pentagon authorities to become more flexible in compensating and hiring cybersecurity talent, the Army is still facing a challenge in competing with other organizations for cyber talent. The secretary said she wants to improve compensation schemes to keep the Army abreast with the private sector when it comes to attracting experts, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

Officials across the DOD have struggled to improve the recruitment and hiring of technical talent. They attributed this struggle partly to the lack of supporting infrastructure for CES. Others argue that added flexibilities are not enough to attract experts at the scale that the Pentagon needs them.

Despite the struggles in attracting cyber experts, Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said the military branch is seeing success in identifying and training cyber talent within its ranks. According to Wormuth, the Army has a lot of cyber and coding experts who are then trained to give warfighters an advantage on the tactical edge.

McConville, who also testified before the committee, shared that individuals at the U.S. Military Academy West Point and the Army ROTC are keen on delving into the world of cyber. He noted that once the Army identifies and trains experts, it must find ways to keep them.

Wormuth said experts in cybersecurity will be essential moving forward as the information domain becomes increasingly contested. According to the Army secretary, those who dominate the information space will have the advantage in future conflicts.