Lt. Gen. William Mayville has submitted his retirement papers roughly eight months after assuming a newly created deputy commander position at U.S. Cyber Command.
According to communications before the Senate dated March 20, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness sent the Armed Services Committee a report approving Mayville’s retirement.
The new dual deputy director position was aimed at helping Cyber Command navigate the elevation to a unified combatant command and eventual split from the National Security Agency without interrupting the regular day-to-day activities.
Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, the agency’s other deputy, has been focused on more traditional day-to-day duties while Mayville was brought in to work intently on the tasks necessary for elevation. Sources have said this setup was meant to be a temporary hierarchy and that Congress was not likely to support the agency permanently having two deputies.
Mayville’s move to Cyber Command, unlike Stewart’s, was not initially publicly announced by the Department of Defense. He had previously served as director of the Joint Staff, which is often considered a stepping stone to four-star command positions. Last year, Mayville was widely reported as a top candidate to be the commander of a unified Cyber Command.
However, earlier this year the president nominated Army Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, currently the commander of Army Cyber Command, for that position. Nakasone already passed through the Armed Services Committee and is awaiting confirmation from the full chamber.
The elevation of Cyber Command will be effective upon the Senate confirmation of a new four star commander.
Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, covering information warfare and cyberspace.
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