September 03, 2020 - 12:41 PM
FORT GORDON, Ga. - The Army command dedicated to defending against hackers and other online threats celebrated its move into a new $366 million headquarters in Georgia on Thursday.
Created a decade ago, the Army Cyber Command had been spread across Army installations in three states before consolidating at Fortitude Hall, its new home at Fort Gordon in Augusta. Plans to bring the entire command together under one roof had been in the works for seven years.
"It allows us to sense, decide and act much faster than our adversaries in a warfighting domain where speed is paramount,” Lt. Gen Stephen Fogarty, the commander of Army Cyber Command, said in a news release.
Fogarty was joined during a dedication ceremony by Army Under Secretary James McPherson and Gen. Paul Nakasone, who serves as commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.
The U.S. military established the Army Cyber Command in 2010 after the Defence Department declared cyberspace a new domain for warfare, citing rising threats from hackers backed by foreign governments and online attackers acting independently. The command oversees about 16,500 soldiers, civilians and contract workers worldwide.
According to the Army, the Cyber Command headquarters will bring about 1,200 additional soldiers and civilian workers to Fort Gordon. Fortitude Hall spans 336,000 square feet (31,215 square meters) and is equipped with more than 300 servers.
Before the consolidation, elements of the Army Cyber Command were also based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and Fort Meade, Maryland. At Fort Gordon, the Army now has its electronic warfare and defence units based at the same installation used for training new cyber soldiers and providing them with continuing education.
The headquarters dedication on Thursday was largely symbolic. Army Cyber Command’s leader, Lt. Gen. Stephen G. Fogarty, and his command staff have been working at Fort Gordon since July.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020