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Army's Plan to Defend Battlefield Communications

  The United States Army announced it will employ a new Occupational Specialty position, tasked with defending military communication systems.

“Communications is very critical in a combat environment. Those who control communications, control the battle field.” Jeff Ross of the Salt Lake Army Recruiting Battalion said.

The Cyber Operation Specialists job will be to support military operations by not only defending the Army’s communication networks, but also to break down the infrastructure of the enemy’s communications.

“In modern-day army, every aspect of our life relies on secure access to networks. We’re under constant cyber-attacks, around the globe, even in the United States, 24/7, 365 days a year to be real. Our adversaries, they’re attempting to deny that communication to hurt our infrastructure. So building a cyber work force, that’s a top priority.”

Those interested must be able to meet basic enlisting requirements - such as completing boot camp, passing a technology literacy test, and qualifying for Top Secret clearance.

“We’re looking for that young adult on Friday night; rather be at home tinkering around with his computer as oppose to being at the high school football game. On the other side of that we’re looking for the motivated person that has the mental capacity of handling this position that wants to learn cutting edge information technology and communication security skill. It’s very marketable on the outside.”

Because of the increased threat of cyber-attack, the Army has already begun recruiting applicants to protect military communications.