To meet the demands of the digital age, the U.S. military must recruit and train new cyber warriors. Traditional physical standards disproportionately and inevitably limit the pool of candidates suitable for cyberwarfare roles. Information warriors operating in the cyber domain are a unique class of warfighter. Recruitment requirements must reflect this reality.
A Brief History of Military Physical Readiness Standards
The American military has always placed a premium on physical readiness. Early standards were informal, but physical fitness was never ignored. Revolutionary Minutemen were handpicked for the “zeal, reliability, and physical strength” required for the Continental Army’s guerilla tactics. Similarly, the U.S. Military Academy has always emphasized physical training, and 19th-century generals prioritized infantry’s ability to march, build fortifications, attack, and evade enemy combatants.
As decades passed, the military gradually formalized its standards. But intelligence warriors, including spies, were often held to different standards than front-line infantrymen. During World War II, thousands of women who volunteered for military intelligence roles in signals intelligence were exempt from the usual physical readiness standards.1 These analysts were often, but not always, desk-bound at home.
As with intelligence analysts of earlier eras, the best candidates for cyberwarfare today may look different than “traditional” military personnel. But military recruiting guidelines do not reflect this, and the consequences are not minor. As of August 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD)’s cyber talent pool is 24% below requirements, but the shortage may be avoidable. Overall, less than a quarter of young Americans are considered eligible to enlist in the military. But in the rising age of cyberwarfare, some of the “usual” reasons for ineligibility, such as lack of physical fitness or certain physical disabilities, are outdated.
While the Department of Defense has emphasized the importance of recruiting and retaining cyber warriors, current trends mean it could face a severe talent shortage in the event of a major information attack or declaration of war. While there was no need to recruit women as intelligence officers before World War II, the war dramatically increased the demand for codebreakers. If the U.S. military wants to stay ahead of its enemies, it needs to invest in non-traditional cyber warriors now, not after combat begins.
Reassessing physical criteria
Physical fitness has long been the foundation of a prepared and effective fighting force. However, the pre-digital world was fundamentally different, and assumptions about what makes a “good” cyber warrior must be reevaluated. Certainly, physical fitness standards still play a key role in warfare. Modern combat arms should continue to demand high physical fitness standards. However, the Department of Defense has suggested that physical fitness for all service members is “essential to operational readiness.” Indeed, operational readiness has traditionally required all soldiers, regardless of specialty, to be ready and capable of deploying to combat zones in support of the mission. This includes cyber warriors, who have been required to deploy and operate at bases outside the United States, even if they may never experience actual combat on a real battlefield.
However, the technology used in cyberwarfare does not depend on physical strength. Currently, most cyber warriors operate in the relatively safe United States, where technological machines are better protected from adversaries. As a result, cyber warriors do not have the same physical demands as military personnel in other specialties. If we do not change the physical standards for cyber warriors, we risk prioritizing aesthetics over function.
It may seem easier to use DoD civilians and contractors for cyber roles than to change the physical baseline, but this misses an important point: Cyberwar is still war. Lives are still at risk in these virtual spaces, and tough choices must be made to defend the national interest. These are inherently military functions, and the military cannot delegate them.
Attracting top talent in a competitive market
Cyber warrior physical fitness requirements should only change in response to the needs and expectations of the role. Standards that are more aligned with the current cyber needs of the Department of Defense will create a more competitive market position for recruiters.
Individuals with cyber expertise who were previously ineligible may become eligible candidates under the new system. In 2020, 18% of 34 million Americans ages 17-24 were recorded as ineligible for military service based solely on weight or health or physical condition. If the Navy were to adopt the new physical fitness requirements, it could have 6 million new candidates to evaluate for cyber talent. If the U.S. wants access to the best cyber warriors, recruiters need to expand the talent pool.
Recruiting is also difficult because the military must compete with the private sector. In an already tough labor market, the military further restricts recruiting efforts with physical fitness standards that don’t match actual job requirements. Aligning the recruiting pool with matching job requirements would allow more recruits to be recruited from hackathons, tech conferences, and university computer science departments. As with any sector, increasing the number of qualified candidates increases the odds of successful recruitment.
Despite the recruiting benefits, there may be concerns about how such a change will affect morale, uniformity, and cohesion, especially among those who must continue to meet traditional physical fitness requirements. This is not a new fear, but an issue the military has had to overcome many times before, most recently related to racial and gender diversity. Any change in group dynamics will require careful and intentional leadership. In a study of unit cohesion and morale at Command and Staff College, Army Maj. Alexander Cox found that “essay spirit is the only primary entity that can transcend issues of race and prejudice.” In this case, effective leadership would help soldiers understand that soldiers have different roles, skills, and capabilities. Future conflicts will take place in cyberspace, where physical ability is largely irrelevant, and military readiness must evolve. Leaders must play a key role in changing perceptions to fit the realities of multiple fronts so that essay spirit can transcend physical diversity prejudices.
Driving specialization in the cyber pipeline
Currently, most cyber positions are subject to mandatory rotation, which can result in a cyber warrior being rotated into another role just as he or she is getting up to speed. The rotation system negatively impacts cyber retention by removing cyber warrior experts “just as they are mastering the complexities of the cyber mission.” This practice does not reflect the highly specialized technical skills and requirements of cyber warriors. Cyber is a specialty that is “too specialized, too expensive, and too long-lasting to rotate individuals every two to three years.” The problem of mandatory rotation could be mitigated if cyber positions included waivers for service members who are not qualified for other roles.
To further address this issue, the cyber warrior recruitment pipeline should be modeled after the career tracks of other professions such as the Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) and medical corps. The military must embrace the insular nature of the pipeline and develop a cadre of elite cyber warriors capable and ready to fight existing and emerging threats. Thus, the cyber community must provide specialized training and career advancement without forced rotations of personnel, just as the Judge Advocate General Corps is typically siloed into legal work. This would solve the ongoing retention problem for Cyber Command, address the shortage of operationally experienced cyber warfare leaders, and allow for more flexible and targeted recruitment. Tactics and strategy also benefit from having technically skilled cyber officers leading the cyber domain. Recruiting, enhancing, and retaining top cyber talent will enable the United States to maintain its edge in cyberspace.
Different types of warriors
In a world where keystrokes are more dangerous than artillery, the skills required of information warriors are changing. Failing to adapt military standards to the evolving cyberwarfare environment is a strategic oversight that the Department of Defense cannot afford. The Secretary of Defense has broad legal authority to set minimum physical standards and can also deploy pilot programs to measure effectiveness before policy changes are made.
Digital technology is inextricably linked to modern American life. A cyberwarfare-savvy adversary could destroy U.S. infrastructure and cause chaos with just one computer. To fight back, America needs cyber warriors who are better at exploiting systems, denial, and moving laterally than they are at doing push-ups.