Nakasone touts success of Army cyber direct commission program

The head of U.S. Cyber Command says he is pleased with the progress the Army's direct commissioning program for cyber officers has made in recruiting talent.

Gen. Paul Nakasone at an Association of the U.S. Army event today said, "We have built it under the leadership of [Lt. Gen. Stephen] Fogarty and [Maj. Gen. John] Morrison, and now [Mag. Gen. Neil] Hersey, and a tremendous amount of capability brought in by [Training and Doctrine Command] to go from 16 officers to well over 300, and we're looking at 400 officers a year in the near future," Nakasone said. "But it's not only commissioned officers. Take a look at the warrant officers -- over 100 have been trained since 2015, and now we're on a pathway to 50 a year as we move out."

The Army has trained more than 322 officers at Ft. Gordon, GA, since 2015 and is looking to increase the number in the next year, Nakasone said.

Col. Paul Craft, chief of cyber and commandant of the Army Cyber School at Ft. Gordon, GA, told Inside Defense in August Army Cyber Command is considering expanding its direct commissioning program to other military specialties following the initial success.