DVIDS – News – JFHQ-DODIN Celebrates a Decade of Leading Unity of Command to Secure, Operate, and Defend DoD Networks

Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network (JFHQ-DODIN) commemorated the 10th anniversary of its establishment during a ceremony held Jan. 15 at its headquarters on Fort George G. Meade, Md.

Hosted by Lt. Gen. Paul T. Stanton, the commander of JFHQ-DODIN and director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, the ceremony marked a decade of the command’s commitment leading a unified force approach in the security, operation, and defense of the Department of Defense (DoD) networks.

Over a decade ago, military leaders recognized that the ever-increasing dependence on network enabled capabilities, and the security of the information residing on the Department of Defense Information Network (DoDIN) was directly related to risk to mission, risk to forces, and operational outcomes. Such risks led to the need for a single organization with the authority and empowered to direct and manage the entirety of DoD’s layered construct used to protect DoD networks, information, and weapon systems. As a result, JFHQ-DODIN was established in 2014 and achieved Initial Operational Capability on January 15, 2015.

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ronnie D. Hawkins, JFHQ-DODIN’s first commander and guest speaker for the ceremony reminisced on how he learned about starting up JFHQ-DODIN while on an aircraft with then Gen. Keith Nakasone.

“We’re celebrating and recognizing the 10th anniversary, but it was six years prior that we started talking about the Joint Force Headquarters – DODIN,” Hawkins said. “[Gen. Nakasone] pulled me over and said ‘this is how we can do this in a supported and supporting relationship. You can start the Joint Force Headquarters and build it out the way you need to. I will be the supported commander. You will be the support team and commander of the Joint Force headquarters.’”

Hawkins concluded his comments by commending the JFHQ-DODIN staff on their outstanding efforts over the past decade.

“I will tell you that where we started out and what we started with looks nothing like it is today because of the ingenuity, the innovation, and the courage of the people that got past, ‘what if we fail,’” he said. “Today, no other country, no other military in the world has anything like [JFHQ-DODIN]. It’s exciting to see what you are doing right now and on behalf of all the former directors, I say congratulations.”

From its austere beginnings of only 90 personnel, JFHQ-DODIN has grown into a robust blended force of more than 550 people comprising military, government civilian, and contractor personnel. Today, JFHQ-DODIN globally conducts command and control for DoDIN Operations and Defensive Cyberspace Operations-Internal Defensive Measures (DCO-IDM) across 45 DoDIN Areas of Operations that includes 11 Combatant Commands, the 5 military services, and 29 Agencies and Field Activities. The scope of responsibility encompasses all four DoD core functions of combatant command warfighting, Services organize/man/train/equip, intelligence activities, and business operations.

JFHQ-DODIN continues to mature by managing the DoDIN battlespace, enhancing its supported and supporting relationships, and integrating partnerships with federal departments, DoD entities, industry, coalition/international partners, and academia. However, the Department is at a critical nexus, both in terms of the rapid pace of technological advances and the increasing abilities of our adversaries.

To gain and maintain a position of strategic advantage and assure continued U.S. primacy, Stanton announced during the commemoration ceremony that JFHQ-DODIN is implementing a bold strategy sparked with innovative thinking about changes needed in policy, processes, funding, and operations.

“We must defend our environments and defeat our adversaries because warfighting depends on it. We will own our battle space fighting in with and through DODIN Areas of Operation. This is a fundamental shift in how we operate that achieves previously unmatched scale and speed,” he said.

The JFHQ-DODIN strategy, titled “How We Prevail,” seeks to optimize today’s conditions while forging groundbreaking changes that lead to significant shifts in developing situational awareness and understanding through data management, daily operations processes and reporting, capability development, policy, and resourcing. JFHQ-DODIN’s desired end state is that the DoD has a ready force and a resilient network, collectively prepared to deny, and create outcomes that impose costs on adversaries while ensuring freedom of maneuver and power projection for the U.S. and its Allies.

“We express threats in terms of risk, and we apply context to our fight. We apply combat power in accordance with a rapidly changing operating environment. We will become data centric leveraging tools to see our battle space and analytics to outmaneuver our adversaries. We will campaign with purpose to defend what matters and impose cost on our adversaries as we gain and maintain contact. Through our talent and our innovation, we will execute with disciplined initiative,” Stanton added.

Stanton concluded his comments by offering sage words of advice and gratitude for the JFHQ-DODIN staff.

“To be clear, this command is the premier defensive cyber operating fighter force in the world. At no point in our history has this mission been more significant. You understand the terrain, you understand the enemy, and you have developed the tradecraft. Now put it together and accelerate into the future,” he said. “Remember your innovation. Your talent is the asymmetric advantage. I am proud to be your commander and proud of our heritage. I’m even more proud of where you’re going to take this organization. Now let’s go. Let’s do it.”

From its establishment in 2015 to its crucial role in securing the DoD’s information systems today, JFHQ-DODIN is a critical component of the U.S. national defense strategy in the digital age. As technology continues to advance and cyber threats continue to evolve, JFHQ-DODIN’s mission is more important than ever. The command will remain at the forefront of DoD cyber initiatives, so the DoD has confidence that the network is resilient and delivers the effects required for crisis and conflict conditions that might arise in the future.

Joint Force Headquarters – Department of Defense information Network is the U.S. Cyber Command component that leads DoD’s unified force approach to network operations, security, and defense across the Department of Defense Information Network, commonly known as the DODIN. This global command and control responsibility underpinning all DoD missions works to ensure mission assurance and bolster DoD’s competitive advantage. The Command’s mission covers a broad range of activities on behalf of U.S. Cyber Command including proactive, threat-informed steps to reduce cyber risk across the DODIN, and leading response to attacks against the DODIN to ensure network operations remain agile and resilient.