Military Review English Edition July-August 2016 | Page 21

Cyberspace
Situational
Understanding
for Tactical Army
Commanders
The Army Is Swinging
for the Fence, but It Just
Needs a Single

Lt. Col. William Jay Martin, U.S. Air Force, Retired
Emily Kaemmer

commanders need to know about cyberspace. What’s
more, even after the Army figures out what it wants
cyber SU to be, it must survive the realpolitik of the
acquisition process. Even the best capability proposals
can become watered down, distorted, or combined
with other programs, resulting in less than ideal outcomes. Moreover, it is not uncommon for capability
developers, in an attempt to create a solution that does
it all, to make requirements so stringent and complex
that the entire effort becomes paralyzed. All of these
scenarios can lead to protracted timelines or solutions
that are marginal or even obsolete before reaching
MILITARY REVIEW  July-August 2016

initial operational capability. This article details why
the Army’s pursuit of cyber SU is stagnant and recommends a simplified approach toward fixing it.

A Justified Need for Cyber SU

I want to thank you for making this day necessary.4
—Yogi Berra
Any discussion of a better approach toward
acquiring a cyber SU system must first begin with
proof that such a system is needed, and there is plenty
of evidence to support that it is. The Department of
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