Commission to study how the US could go about making a Cyber Force

WASHINGTON — Former military leaders, industry executives and other former civil leaders announced today the establishment of a commission dedicated to investigating how the US could implement its own Cyber Force, should the Trump administration decide to establish one.

“This Commission serves a distinct and essential role: it is not litigating the decision to create a Cyber Force but instead addressing the critical — and often overlooked — questions of implementation,” the announcement read. “Without this focused effort, any decision risks years of delay due to the well-known barriers to institutional change.” 

The panel, called the Commission on Cyber Force Generation, was founded by a partnership between the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Cyberspace Solarium Commission 2.0, a project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. It brings together 17 members, ranging from former Commanding General of Army Cyber Command, Lt. Gen. Ed Cardon, and Michael Sulmeyer, the Pentagon’s first Senate-confirmed cyber policy lead, to retired Lt. Commander Tyson Meadors, who now runs Anduril’s cybersecurity operations. 

The establishment of the commission comes after the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act mandated a separate government study to explore alternate organizational structures for the Defense Department’s cyber elements, including the potential creation of a Cyber Force.

Cardon wrote in today’s announcement that the commission, which will officially launch Sept. 16, “invests in implementation planning up front to generate momentum, reduce downstream risk, and accelerate outcomes if and when there is a decision to create a Cyber Force.” 

The commission’s planning includes drawing up plans for the organizational structure of a separate Cyber Force, determining core responsibilities and functions and evaluating any other “necessary authorities” for the force, the announcement read. The group plans to involve various outside stakeholders, experts, industry and “civil society” in its implementation planning as well. 

The idea to create a Cyber Force is one that has permeated throughout defense circles for several years, but the commission said “momentum is building” for such a move.

Breaking Defense previously reported, for example, that when Donald Trump was reelected last November, some experts theorized he would further push for the establishment of such a digital service given he stood up the Space Force during his first term. 

“This change in administration potentially could give more impetus to the creation of a separate cyber service,” Quentin Hodgson, formerly the Pentagon’s director of Cyber Plans, told Breaking Defense shortly after the election. “[Trump] did that with the Space Force. It was something that the Department of Defense didn’t want, but he decided he wanted it, and it’s possible that that could also happen with cyberspace.”

Emily Harding, vice president of the Defense and Security Department at CSIS, also told Breaking Defense at the time, “I also know these guys like to build things, and you know they were the ones responsible for Space Force, so why not?” 

For now, Matt Pearl, who directs the Strategic Technologies Program at CSIS and is a co-director of the new commission, acknowledged that the US needs to be prepared to mitigate the risks that come along with the short fallings in the DoD’s cyber readiness, which could include the establishment of a Cyber Force.

“We are honored to convene this esteemed group of stakeholders to address the pressing issue of military readiness in the cyber domain,” Pearl said in today’s announcement. “We look forward to working with the commissioners to develop a detailed set of policy recommendations for implementing a Cyber Force that would ensure the U.S. military has all the cyber capabilities and expertise it needs to operate effectively in both the offensive and defensive domains.”