Reservists to staff cybercenters

The Pentagon will form five cyber operations centers to be staffed by Reservists and National Guard personnel, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.

The five Joint Reserve Virtual Information Operations/Information Assurance Organizations are designed to ensure that "American warfighters dominate the computer information domain in future conflicts," according to the Pentagon.

The JRVIOs will directly support the department's five key information operations agencies and joint commands: the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Joint Task Force for Computer Network Defense, the National Security Agency, the Information Operations Technical Center and the Joint Information Operations Center at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas.

"Information operations has emerged as an area that is extremely well-suited to integration of Reserve capabilities," said Rudy de Leon, deputy secretary of Defense. "Members of the Reserve and National Guard are often way ahead by the very nature of their civilian employment, trained in their workplaces to exploit information technology."

The initiative is the result of a one-year, DOD-wide collaborative effort called the "Reserve Component Employment 2005 Study," which recommended new and better ways to employ reserve forces and foster better integration of reserve forces into the entire military force.

"With the creation of the JRVIOs, we move another step closer in achieving the full integration of the Reserve and active components," said Charles Cragin, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for reserve affairs.

Guard and Reserve personnel interested in signing up for cyberservice can find contact information in 01/at the Reserve Affairs Web site.

During the first two years — 2001 and 2002 — a total of 182 personnel will staff the organizations, with staffing levels varying from one organization to another. Between 2003 and 2007, the number is expected to increase to more than 600.