The US Army has taken over the role of Combatant Command Support Agent (CCSA) for the US Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
The CCSA structure oversees administrative, logistical, technical, and base operations support for 11 of the Pentagon’s combatant teams.
Including CYBERCOM, these organizations focus on their own domains and areas of responsibility. Management of each command comprises rotational staff from the joint force.
In the transition, approximately 700 personnel will be employed under the US Army’s own cyber segment (ARCYBER) to manage CYBERCOM CCSA tasks.
About 350 people in this workforce will be sourced from the US Air Force and become formal ARCYBER components. The air force was the initial branch, leading CCSA operations for CYBERCOM since the command’s inception in 2017.
The US Army wrote that associated works will take place at Fort Meade, an army installation in Maryland where primary CYBERCOM activities are conducted.
Meanwhile, DefenseScoop reported that employees changing services under the latest CYBERCOM CCSS framework will keep their pay grades and positions.
“Our top priority during this entire effort was to ensure we did everything we could to take care of the civilian workforce.” ARCYBER Deputy Commanding General Jeffrey Jones commented on the role transfer.
“Think of the transfer like this: It’s like your phone service switched from Verizon to AT&T, but your number stayed the same. At the end of the day, you still work for US CYBERCOM, only now you’re affiliated with the best Army in the world.”
More Functions
The US Army noted that the army-led CCSA team will integrate additional support functions to sustain CYBERCOM’s operability.
Such tasks involve human resources, counterintelligence and polygraph administration, safety, network, and Government Purchase Card support.
“Change is constant. Change is good,” Jones said. “Without it, we’re stagnant. This change brings a highly talented workforce into the Army footprint.”
US Cyber Force Suggestion
The CYBERCOM CCSA transition followed a proposal to research the feasibility of an independent Cyber Force branch under the US Department of Defense.
The initiative, passed unanimously by the House Armed Services Committee, was submitted in May as part of the nearly $900-billion defense policy bill for 2025.
In mid-June, the US Congress passed its own version of the overall policy documentation. A compromise will be completed by their counterparts in the Senate before additional reviews and approval from the president.