Congress set to elevate CYBERCOM to unified combatant command: Congress is set to authorize the elevation of US Cyber Command, taking it from under the purview of US Strategic Command and making it a fully unified combatant command.
In the finalized National Defense Authorization Act that passed House and Senate conference committees, the legislation authorizes the secretary of defense to establish a unified combatant command for cyber operations forces. Currently, CYBERCOM is a sub-unified command beneath STRATCOM, which oversees a bevy of areas from the nation’s nuclear capabilities to space and cyber.
What this designation means in practical terms is greater scope in global campaign planning, funding, authorities, personnel and policy, said Mackenzie Eaglen, resident fellow in the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
This elevation also makes cyber a core and priority mission for the Department of Defense, according to Eaglen.
