Amid lawmaker concerns, CYBERCOM head says SOCOM-like model is best way forward

Army Lt. Gen. William J. Hartman testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on cybersecurity in Washington, April 9, 2025. (Defense Department)

By Carley Welch • May 19, 2025

As Congress continues to weigh the idea of a separate cyber force, the head of US Cyber Command told lawmakers today that internal Pentagon findings point to a different solution.

Instead of a stand-alone cyber force or siloing each service’s cyber operations, Lt. Gen. William Hartman, the acting head of CYBERCOM who is also performing the duties of the NSA chief, said the combatant command would benefit by adopting a model more in line with the structure of US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

“We had a requirement from Congress, NDA section 1533 [from the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act], to analyze the force presentation model for the cyber force. We developed an operational planning team from CYBERCOM and across the Department of Defense in order to look at three models,” he told members of the House Armed Services subcommittee on cyber, information technologies and innovation.