Soldiers and operators shift towards cyber electromagnetic activities

The United States Army Cyber Command announced last week that soldiers and operators at the corps level or below will be shifting towards cyber electromagnetic activities (CEMA).

Officials emphasized that CEMA capabilities are both for protection of the homeland as well as assets to be used by combatant commanders. CEMA consists of the synchronization of cyberspace operations, electronic warfare and spectrum management operations.

The shift toward CEMA occurred because of the drastic change in the information environment and developing cyber threats. Such threats could compromise troop movements and actions during wartime.

To gauge the scope of potential threats, Army Forces developed an expeditionary cyber pilot that involves a partnership with U.S. Training and Doctrine Command, U.S. Army Forces Command and various combat training centers. CEMA technologies were recently involved in a National Training Center rotation at Fort Irwin, California.

Brig. Gen. Patricia A. Frost explained CEMA-related situations in detail.

A patrol leaves its forward operating base with incredible intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. They can literally “see themselves and the environment they’re operating in,” Frost said. “But then, there’s also a logical environment operating alongside that patrol that is feeding the enemy, position, navigation, timing, targeting information that fits in the cyberspace domain that I believe — and this is my personal opinion — that a brigade commander needs to be able to [better] see that battle space.”