The Battle for Cyberspace: U.S. Edges Closer to a Standalone Military Cyber Force

In a move that could reshape the future of digital warfare, a new commission has been established to lay the groundwork for what many in defense and cybersecurity circles have long argued is inevitable: the formation of an independent Cyber Force within the U.S. military.

Spearheaded by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in partnership with the Cyber Solarium Commission 2.0 project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the commission isn’t here to debate whether a Cyber Force should exist—but how to build one from the ground up.

With roots in prior congressional mandates and defense policy proposals, this new initiative reflects growing dissatisfaction with the military's fragmented cyber readiness model. While each service—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps—is tasked with supplying trained cyber units to U.S. Cyber Command (Cybercom), critics argue this decentralized system has yielded uneven capabilities, chronic readiness shortfalls, and internal cultural clashes.

“Given the well-documented shortcomings in current force generation and readiness models to organize, train, and equip for military cyber operations, momentum is building for a dedicated Cyber Force,” the commission wrote in a public statement.

Moving Past Patchwork Readiness

Currently, Cybercom functions as a unified combatant command drawing talent and tools from across the services. But the services themselves remain responsible for training and equipping the cyber warriors who fill Cybercom’s ranks. This awkward arrangement—where ownership and accountability are split—has led to ongoing friction, inconsistent resourcing, and, in some cases, under-prioritized cyber capabilities within traditional service hierarchies.

Each branch has its own incentives, pay structures, and career development models. For elite cyber operators whose skills are in high demand across government and the private sector, this has contributed to talent attrition and an inability to scale the cyber mission force effectively.

In response, Congress included language in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act directing a study of alternative cyber force structures. But this new commission, with heavyweights from across the cyber and defense ecosystem, aims to get ahead of a formal policy decision by building a blueprint for action.

From Blueprint to Battlespace

Led by co-chairs Josh Stiefel, a former House Armed Services Committee staffer, and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ed Cardon, who previously commanded Army Cyber Command, the commission boasts an all-star lineup: former service chiefs, senior Cybercom leaders, NSA veterans, and civilian cyber experts.

“Having supported multiple organizational transformations within the Department of Defense, the most consequential phase begins after a decision is made—implementation,” said Cardon. “This project takes a different approach: it invests in implementation planning up front to generate momentum, reduce downstream risk, and accelerate outcomes if and when there is a decision to create a Cyber Force.”

Their mandate? Define the organizational DNA of a potential Cyber Force—from mission scope to training doctrine to legal authorities. This isn’t about hypotheticals; it’s about being ready when the go-ahead comes.

Cybercom 2.0 and the Critics

To its credit, Cybercom has not stood still. With the FY2024 defense budget, Congress granted the command enhanced “service-like” authorities, enabling it to control its own acquisition, training, and budget processes. This move, long sought by Cybercom, is designed to give the command autonomy traditionally reserved for the military services.

Additionally, Cybercom has launched an internal overhaul dubbed “Cybercom 2.0,” an effort to modernize force generation, capability development, and strategic posture in light of increasingly sophisticated threats from China, Russia, and non-state actors.

But proponents of a Cyber Force argue that these reforms, while necessary, don’t go far enough.

"The Cyber Force is going to be the first service to engage in any attack that occurs on the modern warfare front,” said Kevin Kirkwood, CISO at Exabeam. “I applaud the action to explore and expand upon a Cyber Force by instituting this committee. My challenge to the committee is to move at the speed that we are seeing in the AI movement across the internet.”

Kirkwood emphasized that adversaries—state-backed and criminal—have already organized coordinated cyber operations and are rapidly adapting offensive strategies. “They have had the opportunity to spend most of their resources on the attack side, but it is time to shift that,” he added.

The Long View

If a Cyber Force is greenlit, it would mark the first creation of a new military branch since the Space Force in 2019—and only the second since the Air Force was established in 1947. It would require not only statutory authority from Congress, but also a sweeping operational, cultural, and logistical realignment.

That’s where the commission hopes to make the difference. By anticipating the inevitable implementation headaches—inter-service rivalry, integration with existing command structures, and recruitment pipelines—it aims to smooth the transition from theoretical force to operational reality.

The commission’s official launch is set for September 16. Whether it succeeds may not just determine the future of America’s cyber warriors, but the country’s ability to respond to a battlefield that no longer respects borders—or firewalls.