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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
“Cyberspace and its associated technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to
the US and are vital to our Nation’s security, and by extension, to all aspects of
military operations.”
1. Introduction
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, 2011
a. This publication provides fundamental constructs and guidance to assist joint force
commanders (JFCs), their staffs, and supporting and subordinate commanders in the
planning, execution, and assessment of cyberspace operations (CO). CO are the employment
of cyberspace capabilities where the primary purpose is to achieve objectives in or through
cyberspace.
b. This publication discusses military operations in and through cyberspace; explains
the Joint Staff (JS), combatant command (CCMD), United States Strategic Command
(USSTRATCOM), United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), functional and
Service component relationships and responsibilities; and establishes a framework for the
employment of cyberspace forces and capabilities.
c. Most aspects of joint operations rely in part on cyberspace, the global domain within
the information environment consisting of the interdependent network of information
technology (IT) infrastructures and resident data, including the Internet, telecommunications
networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers. Developments in
cyberspace provide the means for the US military, its allies, and partner nations to gain and
maintain a strategic, continuing advantage in the operational environment (OE), and can be
leveraged to ensure the nation’s economic and physical security. Cyberspace reaches across
geographic and geopolitical boundaries, much of it residing outside of US control, and is
integrated with the operation of critical infrastructures, as well as the conduct of commerce,
governance, and national security. Access to the Internet provides adversaries the capability
to compromise the integrity of US critical infrastructures in direct and indirect ways. These
characteristics and conditions present a paradox within cyberspace: the prosperity and
security of our nation have been significantly enhanced by our use of cyberspace, yet these
same developments have led to increased vulnerabilities and a critical dependence on
cyberspace, for the US in general and the joint force in particular.
d. While CO can produce stand-alone tactical, operational, and strategic effects and
achieve objectives, they must be integrated with the employment of the JFC’s other
capabilities to create synergistic effects in support of the JFC’s plan.
e. CO takes place in a complex environment: large parts of cyberspace are not under
the any nations’ control; the array of state and non-state actors is extremely broad; the costs
of entry are low; and technology proliferates rapidly and often unpredictably. Conversely,
they should also be prepared to conduct operations under degraded cyberspace conditions.
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