Army National Guard task force supporting Cybercom comes to a close

A National Guard task force that has been supporting U.S. Cyber Command for the past seven years is officially coming to an end Tuesday.

Task Force Echo has aided the combatant command’s Cyber National Mission Force, which conducts what are essentially offensive operations to protect the nation from malicious cyber actors. Little public information is known about the task force other than it supports full-spectrum cyber ops. Sources had indicated that it has also supported Joint Task Force-Ares, which sought to limit the Islamic State group’s abilities in the digital world, and now focuses on state actors, namely, China.

While not so-called “trigger pullers,” sources have also indicated the task force provides infrastructure support.

The organization was officially sunset in a ceremony at Fort Meade, Maryland, according to a post by the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade.

The closure was a planned move with Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace command taking over the mission. Responsibility transferred to MARFORCYBER to support the Joint Mission Operations Center Maryland (JMOC-M) at Fort Meade, which is where cyber ops are launched from.

There was a transfer of authority to MARFORCYBER last year between Task Force Echo VII and VIII, according to an Army official, for the JMOC mission. Task Force Echo continued to support MARFORCYBER and the mission until the end of its last rotation on Tuesday.   

Cybercom identified an immediate need in 2017 and called upon the 91st Cyber Brigade, an Army National Guard unit with five cyber battalions across several states, according to the post.

Sources have indicated that when the JMOC was established, technical support in the way of infrastructure, network operations and security operations center support was needed.

Overall, soldiers from 32 states have supported the effort on a rotating basis. It was aligned under the 780th and Army Cyber Command with soldiers engineering, installing, operating, maintaining and defending critical network infrastructure and conducting cyberspace ops in support of Cybercom and the CNMF.

Officials have indicated the task force mobilization was historic given it was the first Army National Guard mobilization of its size to support Cybercom full time. It was seen as a mutually beneficial relationship allowing the Guard to gain real-world experience while taking the mission from the brigade, which had to use resources to initially support the effort.

The Guard has been lauded as a critical resource in the overall national cyber defense landscape, serving as the first responders to cyber incidents that affect critical infrastructure, which are becoming more rampant from attacks on pipelines and water systems. They can also be mobilized to support broader national security missions.