Attracting Recruiting And Retaining Successful Cyberspace Operations Officers

Recruiting and retaining military cyberspace officers is critical to national security. Through interviews, the authors examine potential drivers of retention and recruiting among cyberspace operations officers, making recommendations for the future.

America is facing the most dangerous and complex geopolitical environment since World War II. Ensuring the adequacy and flexibility of our defense budget is essential to keeping our nation secure and the world safe for global democracy. Defense Budgeting for a Safer World brings together the ideas, perspectives, and solutions of America's most renowned experts on national security and the defense budget. The volume originates from a conference held at the Hoover Institution in early 2023 and reflects the presentations, discussions, and debates among military and civilian leaders. Drawing on their remarkable experience leading the Pentagon, the services, Congress, and academe, these experts lay out the key priorities in reforming, realigning, and rightsizing the budget amid current challenges. Several topics converge: national security threats, strategy, technology and innovation, personnel, reform options, and the politics of the defense budget. This unique compilation covers each of the major areas of debate in forging and sustaining a defense budget capable of supporting the nation's security needs.

The 2010 US Army Training and Doctrine Command's Concept Capability Plan for Cyberspace Operations directed the Army to begin development of a Cyber Mission Force. The direction to build a Cyber Mission Force followed a number of cyberspace attacks conducted to support military operations. The foundation of the Cyber Mission Force will be the highly technical soldiers trained to operate in the cyberspace domain. To develop this force the Army will need to recruit, retain, and organize for success. Research has shown that persons drawn to highly technical fields, such as cyberspace, possess unique character traits that differ from the typical traits of Army enlistees. The research has further shown that compensation, branding, professional development models, and organization are key factors in the recruitment and retention of cyberspace professionals in both the military services and private sector. Assessing the Army's model for recruiting, retaining, and organizing a Cyber Mission Force required a number of steps. First, it was necessary to understand the unique generational and character traits for those drawn to highly technical fields. The next step involved comparing Air Force and private sector branding with that of the Army. The research also examined compensation differences between the Air Force, private sector, and the Army in regard to recruiting and retaining cyberspace professionals. Next followed analysis of professional development models for cyberspace professionals and how professional development directly impacts retention of cyberspace professionals. The last step involved examining how the Air Force, private sector and the Army approach organizing for cyberspace operations. The study found that the Army's current approach to recruiting, retaining, and organizing a Cyber Mission Force is unlikely to meet the Army's goals. The findings suggest that Army must readdress branding, compensation, professional development and organization in order to increase the likelihood of success for the Cyber Mission Force.