Press Releases

 Late Wednesday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted an amendment introduced by Rep. Mike Johnson (LA-04) to H.R. 2810, the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. Johnson’s amendment improves the Army’s cyber readiness by requiring the Army to conduct a review of the Army Combat Training Centers (CTCs) and current resident cyber capabilities training. The assessment will examine potential training readiness shortfalls and ensure steps are taken to address pre-rotational cyber training needs. These assessments are critical to adequately preparing and equipping our troops against cyber-attacks.

Rep. Johnson released the following statement:

“In today’s times of increased threats and evolving warfare, it is essential we provide our military with not only the best equipment, but the right training to meet future challenges. Reviewing the Army’s cyber readiness to better assess what tools and training are needed to succeed has been a priority expressed repeatedly by top officials during this year’s Congressional defense hearings.

“We must not allow our men and women in uniform to fall behind in technological advances when they have selflessly dedicated their lives to protecting this great nation. They deserve the very best defense resources available so they remain the dominant force in air, sea, space and cyberspace domains.”

Background

Specifically, Johnson’s amendment states that the Army will, as part of the assessment, take into consideration nearby cyber assets, such as state and local, that can be utilized to address potential cyber capability and readiness shortfalls. The Army’s CTCs are responsible for providing large scale, realistic Joint and combined training exercises for commanders, soldiers, staffs and units to demonstrate brigade readiness and assess their needs.

According to the U.S. Army, CTC training events - such as those conducted at Fort Polk’s Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in Louisiana and the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, CA - are the closest thing to actual combat operations.