Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
- The 3rd Infantry Division conducted the Army’s first long-range, fully remote cybersecurity operation at the division level while the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team was at Fort Irwin, California.
- The remote cyber protection was critical for units using cloud-dependent systems, and the division detected 17 million digital threats and manually investigated 3,000 alerts during the operation.
Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, conducted a demanding two-week rotation at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, while the division’s network operations and security cell at Fort Stewart, Georgia, provided remote cybersecurity support. The successful operation highlighted the importance of cyber protection for units using cloud-dependent systems on missions. The brigade faced a challenging pace and scale during the rotation, including conducting force-on-force operations and seizing objectives.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Gregory Hazard, who heads the unit’s Cybersecurity Operations Center, emphasized the proof of concept stage of the remote cell. Other divisions have shown interest in replicating the concept. The division, which received upgrades in 2022, also deployed the first heavy Immediate Response Package since 2003 and conducted the first successful armored brigade combined arms breach of an urban site at nighttime in over 20 years.
The combination of new equipment and cyber protection allowed for the successful completion of various operations, showcasing the division’s readiness and adaptability in today’s evolving threat landscape.
