The U.S. Army National Guard is seeking top tier, uniquely skilled professionals with a passion to provide an immediate and positive impact in fortifying the Army’s defenses against rapidly evolving threats. The Army National Guard is also seeking those who can drive innovation, safeguard critical infrastructure, and ensure a ready force led by our great citizen Soldiers during state and federal cyber missions.
Qualified personnel can apply for a direct appointment as a commissioned officer in the Army National Guard. With Cyber elements spread across the 54 States, Territories, and District of Columbia, a variety of positions are available in offensive and defensive cyberspace operations and infrastructure support, depending on location. If you meet our specific requirements, you are invited to apply for this crucial and rewarding challenge of becoming a Cyber Officer.
Direct commissioning in the Army National Guard will be limited to vacant positions within the applicant’s preferred State (or territory). If an applicant desires a specific State and that State does not have any Cyber Officer vacancies, the applicant will need to pursue a position in a different State or possibly pursue enlistment opportunities in their preferred State.
Cyber Officers conduct dynamic real-world operations to enable global force projection through sensing and understanding the information dimension, engineering and integrating exquisite capabilities, and gaining advantages in technological and data-centric environments. If selected for this opportunity, you will:
• Lead, direct, manage, plan, integrate, synchronize, and execute offensive and defensive cyberspace operations.
• Become well-versed in maneuvering in and through the cyberspace domain and electromagnetic spectrum to deliver effects to secure critical infrastructure and defend our nation.
• Ensure the training and readiness of your unit for the accomplishment of your mission.
• Must be a U.S. citizen; dual citizenship not authorized
• Meet specific education, experience, and skill requirements, as outlined below
• Pass the Army medical physical and meet basic Army physical fitness standards
• Match criteria for an available position in a State Army National Guard organization
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret (TS) security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access
• Age of applicant must not exceed 42 years at the time of commissioning
• Current servicemembers are eligible to apply; however, they must be considered exceptional to earn a direct commission. They must also prove that their experience, training, or education was funded with private resources and not financed by any Department of Defense (military) funded programs or tuition assistance.
Candidates may qualify for Cyber direct commissioning with experience in a wide variety of leadership and technical skill areas. Candidates must meet the following criteria:
• Proven ability to lead a team/organization in an operational, tactical, or technical environment
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Must have eight or more years of experience in the cyberspace domain with advanced technical proficiency in areas such as:
o Comprehensive vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, or red team experience
o Wide-ranging experience in diagnosing cyber threat vectors or vulnerabilities and
using engineering tools, systems, or software to harden against threats
o Innovative understanding and implementation of common attack methodologies
o Advanced digital forensics on multiple OS platforms
o Extensive incident response handling experience
o Senior systems and network engineering
o Advanced cloud systems security management
o Software, application, database, or front/backend engineering
o Engineering, implementing, and maintaining network security protocols in IT or OT
environments
Bachelor’s degree required for direct commissioning. Master’s or Doctoral degree in a cyberspace, cybersecurity, or related STEM discipline is strongly preferred for Cyber direct commissioning in the Army National Guard.
