Fort George G. Meade, MD -- When the United States must rapidly respond to crisis, it sends the U.S. Marine Corps. Organized in a self-sufficient unit, a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) brings together the Marine Corps' infantry, armored, artillery, air, command, and logistics power to conduct highly-coordinated amphibious operations and landings abroad.
These operations depend on maneuvering in the Cyberspace domain and the Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN) for Assured Command and Control. The MCEN is the Marine Corps' communications backbone connecting people, systems, and processes. This warfighting network provides robust, seamless, and secure end‐to‐end communications for all Marines; from the supporting establishment to forward-deployed forces.
MARFORCYBER's Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group (MCCOG) is the unit responsible for operating, securing, and defending the MCEN while also ensuring the MAGTFs retain their ability to communicate on the battlefield. The MCCOG and its three Network Battalions and three Network Activities also provide direct cyberspace operations support to MAGTFs in order to guarantee their freedom of action in any situation.
Since the release of the 38th Commandant's Planning Guidance, the MCCOG has worked to turn the MCEN into a weapon system that can ensure seamless command and control. The MCCOG set out with the goal to be able to sense, make sense, and act faster than adversaries. In order to do this, they began their effort of MCEN Modernization, with the end goal of extending capabilities to the warfighter forward.
“Without a modernized MCEN, the Marine Corps will lose the competitive advantage needed to keep pace with tomorrow’s adversaries. We have a ruthless focus and effort to bring assured command and control to our operating forces. Our main priority is to operate, secure and defend the Marine Corps Enterprise Network connecting any user with any device in any location to support any mission.” Said Lt Col Robert Wickham, the MCCOG’s team lead on DODIN operations.
The Marine Corps Network Modernization Plan defines the future MCEN and has driven MCCOG efforts to migrate services to hybrid cloud and data centers, update and modernize telecommunications infrastructure, deploying the MCEN to the tactical edge, enabling the digital kill chain, and most importantly transition the MCEN to a services-based capability which enables Marines access to information worldwide.
According to Wickham, “The MCCOG is focused on creating the necessary structure that assures command and control across the enterprise and allows us to integrate effects from every domain in support of the warfighter.”
To accomplish this mission, the MCCOG is responsible for planning, directing and conducting Defensive Cyberspace Operations (DCO) and DODIN operations to protect the MCEN.