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US Cyber Command Is Having A Hard Time Getting People To Join

Once soldiers finish their rotation with U.S. CYBERCOM, they often leave for other prospects in the high-demand IT field.

By: Lindsey Pulse

Posted at 10:19 AM, May 11, 2017

and last updated 2017-05-11 10:19:16-04

The U.S. military needs IT people. Badly.

U.S. Cyber Command, aka CYBERCOM, is apparently having a rough time recruiting, so the department is considering letting prospective hires skip boot camp.

IT skills are in high demand — so much so that after soldiers spend time with the Cyber Mission Force, they're often reassigned to other Pentagon departments.

"What we need to do is something along the order of a third should stay with us," Adm. Mike Rogers said.

But another issue is military hiring policies. Typically, people coming into CYBERCOM are looking at a five- to 10-year training and development period.

But in this field, technology is outpacing hiring policies.

So Adm. Mike Rogers, head of CYBERCOM and director of the National Security Agency, wants to streamline the process.

He thinks the command should give recruits with essential skills ranks and pay based on what they're bringing to the table, rather than make them go through the normal advancement process.

Still, some have pointed out even basing pay on existing skills might not be enough to compete with private-sector salaries.