THE US Department of Defense (DoD) has released its 2009 Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review (QRM) Report to Congress.
The review established six core mission areas, including major combat operations (MCOs), which it defined as a "conduct of synergistic, high-tempo actions in multiple operating domains, including cyberspace, to shatter the coherence of the adversary's plans and dispositions and render him unable or unwilling to militarily oppose the achievement of US strategic objectives."
The DoD also revealed its intention to develop capabilties that provided "global situational awareness of cyberspace, US freedom of action in cyberspace, the ability to provide warfighting effects within and through cyberspace, and, when called upon, provide cyberspace support to civil authorities."
In addition, the Department confirmed that it would take the following steps to attain cyber superiority by:
- Developing capable forces, equipped with requisite skills, training, education, and experience
- Structuring forces and associated processes and procedures to effectively and efficiently execute Defense Department policies and priorities in cyberspace
- Employing those forces to achieve desired effects across the full range of military operations
 The Defense Department emphasised that US national security remained inextricably linked to the cyberspace domain, where conflict was not limited by geography or time.
"The expanding use of cyberspace places United States' interests at greater risk from cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Cyber actors can operate globally, within our own borders, and within the borders of our allies and adversaries. The complexity and amount of activity in this evolving domain make it difficult to detect, interdict, and attribute malicious activities," said the report.
However, the DoD also struck a positive tone when it noted cyberspace offered the US military "unprecedented" opportunities to shape and control the battlespace while achieving national objectives.
"Because adversaries operate in the same shared environment, US forces have the ability to use non-kinetic options with new levels of global reach and immediacy against a variety of targets," added the report.
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