Thinking Ahead

The Army released the long-awaited final version of its Cyberspace Operations Concept Capability Plan 2016-2028 this week. The document offers a clear acknowledgment that the ground service must first improve its own capabilities to fight online. But the authors also included a point of warning that this may not be enough.

"As the vignettes . . . show, the U.S. Army may be required to augment host nation and civil support agencies with CyberOps expertise and capabilities," the Feb. 22 document reads. "The vignettes posit the joint force will provide this augmentation to Army forces since it will exceed the Army’s capacity. However, at present such is far from being a reality. Failure to build this capacity in the joint force will place both mission and lives at risk."

The document also says the ground service's success in cyber operations depends in large part on technology. "Failure to adapt research, development, testing, and acquisition processes to stay apace with technologic advancements will make it difficult, if not impossible, to gain advantage, protect that advantage, and place adversaries at a disadvantage," the plan states.