Daniel Driscoll, President Trump’s pick to become secretary of the Army, vowed during his confirmation hearing today to strengthen the Army’s cyber workforce, and promised to prioritize expansion of the service’s cyber force to meet evolving threats in an increasingly digital battlefield.
“We are going to have to figure out and work together to create unique pathways for the cyber experts among us to be the most lethal cyber soldier,” Driscoll told members of the Armed Services Committee who are considering his nomination.
A recurring challenge for the Army and the broader military has been the recruitment and retention of skilled cyber operators, both military and civilian, with the Department of Defense reporting approximately 28,000 unfilled cyber positions as of November 2024.
One of the key positions Driscoll vowed to prioritize filling is Principal Cyber Advisor, a role that has been vacant for nearly six months. The position was previously held by Michael Sulmeyer, who left in August 2024 and now serves as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy.
In a list of advance policy questions from senators ahead of his confirmation hearing Thursday, Driscoll was asked what he would do to improve military and civilian cybersecurity career paths.
“The Army needs cyber warriors. If confirmed, I will review the current career pathways and professional development opportunities for our cyber warriors, both in and out of uniform, and seek to ensure that we are giving them the right training and growth opportunities to address current and future cyber threats,” he wrote.
According to Driscoll, addressing this recruitment challenge requires the Army to create a clear pathway for bringing skilled cyber experts into the service, ensuring a steady pipeline of talent to meet the growing demands of modern warfare.
“[And] that pathway may look very different from going to Ranger School and ending up in a tanker battalion. We may need to work with the leaders in the civilian sector to empower those candidates who want to join the Army, those future soldiers to come in,” Driscoll said.
He also alluded to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s, D-N.Y., Cyber Service Academy Scholarship Program as a creative solution to the recruitment challenge and pledged to collaborate with the New York senator on developing similar initiatives.
Driscoll Calls for Faster Army Tech Acquisitions
During his confirmation hearing Driscoll also told senators today that the service should focus on purchasing more non-developmental solutions for emerging technologies to accelerate the delivery of new capabilities to soldiers and better meet emerging threats.
“Some commercial products and non-development items should move immediately into the field without testing or with minimal testing because the Army currently has no existing capability,” Driscoll said. He added that in other situations, the Army can thoroughly test non-developmental and commercial items “if the operational need is less dire.”
According to Driscoll, the Army’s test-and-evaluation requirements for non-developmental items would depend on the operational need and the urgency of the capabilities. He told senators that if confirmed, he would assess the service’s capacity to test and evaluate software and other tools that require “rapid transition.”
A full Senate confirmation vote for Driscoll has not yet been scheduled, but he is expected to receive widespread approval from lawmakers.
