Cyber House Testimony

Assistant Secretary of Defense John Plumb testifies before the House Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C. March 30, 2023. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)

WASHINGTON — A nominee for a newly created cyber policy role in the Pentagon won’t likely come until September at the earliest following a study to examine what exactly the position should entail — a time frame that a Defense Department official said is “deliberate,” but a key lawmaker calls “disappointing.”

“So what we are doing is following the template that was used to create my current position, ASD for space, which is putting a [federally funded research and development center] on contract to examine what’s the proper structure, are there different pieces required, what things should be in this cyber ASD ship and… we’re looking at components of electronic warfare, components of information warfare… That is on contract now,” John Plumb, principal cyber advisor to the secretary of defense and assistant secretary of defense [ASD] for space policy told a House Armed Services Committee cyber, innovative technologies and information systems hearing today.

“We expect that study should be done around September, but we are moving forward on it,” he continued. “We just want to do it right.”

Plumb did not specify who was conducting the study, but The Record reported on Wednesday that the RAND Corporation is advising DoD on the new role. According to the publication, Quentin Hodgson, a senior defense researcher at the research firm, and another individual will lead the examination.

The assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy position was created in the fiscal 2023 version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which designated the new role as supervising all cyber policy as well as serving as the principal cyber advisor to the secretary of defense — half the job Plumb does now. In the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the bill, the committee noted it was “concerned that the current arrangement of cyber policy as part of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy does not provide adequate support to posture the Department to respond to the dynamic and growing cyber threats posed by malicious cyber actors.”

The dedicated ASD for cyber policy would also “focus on implementation of the Department of Defense Cyber Strategy and on conducting oversight of U.S. Cyber Command,” the committee noted at the time.

At the HASC CITI hearing, chairman of the subcommittee Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., who sparked the discussion by asking Plumb why lawmakers “aren’t seeing” a nominee yet, called the September time frame “disappointing.” While Gallagher didn’t expand further, he has been a staunch supporter of DoD strengthening its cyber capabilities in order to outpace foreign adversaries, and has even considered the possibility of standing up an independent Cyber Force

“I’m confident that the Senate is ready to rapidly confirm a nominee,” Gallagher said. “I’ve had many conversations to that effect.” 

As for whether any nominee would actually be speedily confirmed, other lawmakers may have something to say about that. Currently Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), is holding up the promotions of more than 150 military generals and flag officers over DoD’s abortion policy that pays for travel expenses and allows for paid time off. During a SASC hearing on Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin implored Tuberville to “reconsider and allow our nominations to move forward.”

“It will make a significant difference for our force,” Austin said.