Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone will take the reins as commander of Army Cyber Command and Second Army. Nakasone will take over for Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, who will be reassigned to a separate role at the Pentagon.
Previously, Nakasone served as the commander of the Cyber National Mission Force at U.S. Cyber Command.
CYBERCOM commander Adm. Michael Rogers, in April testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF) will help defend critical infrastructure against both malicious cyber activity and "cyber activity of significant consequence."
The CNMF will comprise National Mission Teams, whose primary role is to defend the nation, National Support Teams, whose primary role is providing analytic and planning support to the national mission teams, and Nation Cyber Protection Teams, which defend Department of Defense networks. Altogether, this force will "conduct full-spectrum cyberspace operations to deter, disrupt, and defeat adversary cyber actors," Rogers's said.
In a briefing with reporters during the annual Association of the United States Army conference at the beginning of October, Cardon said he had seen stunning progress by the Army in cyberspace during his three years at the helm of Army Cyber Command.
He also noted the growth in capability as it applies to defensive cyberspace operations and infrastructure.
Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, covering information warfare and cyberspace.
