Expanding, Acquiring, Enlisting, and Restructuring: Strategies the Military Employs to Secure Needed Personnel for Digital Combat

The United States government is looking to address critical gaps in its military, particularly in the realm of digital talent, with a proposed United States Digital Service Academy (USDSA). This academy, aimed at addressing long-term needs, could revolutionize the way the military operates.

The US Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer-based organization chartered in 1941, serves as a prime example of a structure that could be adapted. The CAP trains individuals in aviation basics and emergency services, and can be called upon for national security duties when needed.

The federal government recognizes the importance of nurturing digital talent from a young age. This long-term approach could see school-aged children being groomed for roles in the digital sector, ensuring a steady supply of skilled professionals for the military.

Mignon Clyburn, a commissioner of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), has highlighted the challenges in recruiting tech talent for the military. Factors such as autonomy in academia, higher pay in industry, unattractive hierarchy in government, and difficulty in recruiting talent by government agencies are some of the obstacles.

The NSCAI released a final report last year, outlining the need for a more digitally-focused military. The Army Medical Department structure could serve as a model for creating a digital regiment, corps, or department. Such a formation would facilitate professional adherence to certification, licensure, and professional development for future digital-focused graduates.

The US Army Cyber Center of Excellence focuses on the development of doctrine, while the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center assists senior leaders with operational preparedness relating to the impacts of AI. A pilot program for cyber officers in ROTC was announced in May 2022, along with the establishment of the "Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Cybersecurity Training Program" to train these officers.

The future of information warfare will require more AI as the fog of war increases and information overloads human decision-making. Service members who can harness machine-generated data from various sensors and integrate that information quickly to solve problems become a force multiplier.

However, this shift towards AI requires a total cultural change within the military. Two scholars working with the military on AI have emphasized the need for the military to embrace future warfare. This could involve recruiting non-traditional personnel, such as cyber sleuths, white-hat hackers, open-source analysts, social media entrepreneurs, and hackathon participants.

Recruiting "hacktivists" who have operated in the gray zones of cyberspace may also require rethinking security clearances and the military's expected deference to age and rank. The West Point's applied statistics and data science major aligns with the requirements identified by the NSCAI, providing a potential pipeline for future digital-focused military personnel.

An emphasis on human-machine teaming for decision-making could lower risk and reduce conflict. The integration of AI in the military will increase the ability to perceive, decide, and act beyond human cognition alone. The ideal is a military that is not only technologically advanced but also adaptable, ready to meet the challenges of the future.

Expanding, Acquiring, Enlisting, and Restructuring: Strategies the Military Employs to Secure Needed Personnel for Digital Combat