A Joint Cyber Command Office

The House Armed Services Committee decided to tinker around with Defense Department cyber stuff in its version of the fiscal 2010 Defense authorization bill and inserted language calling for the department to establish "a joint program office for cyber operations capabilities."

The report said the new program office will "assist in the development of future [cyber] capabilities including manpower development, tactics and technologies for the services, defense agencies and combatant commands."

Although Defense Secretary Robert Gates has not made a public announcement on the formation of a new Defense Cyber Command, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., said the Cyber Command will be a sub-unified command under the U.S. Strategic Command, as I predicted in November.

The bill, going through markup as I write this, also contains provisions to allow private-sector civilians to receive instruction at the Defense Cyber Investigation Training Academy.

It also authorizes $5 million above the president's budget request to support K-12 and undergraduate Reserve Officer Training Corps educational outreach programs in mathematics and computer science. "This supports long-term development of a highly educated and skilled future workforce for cyber operations," the bill said.