The leader of the Defense Intelligence Agency Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, will serve as deputy commander at U.S. Cyber Command, a DoD notice announced.

When questioned last year about whether the U.S. has gone far enough in deterring cyber aggression from adversaries, Stewart told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “I think most potential adversaries understand that we have a capability, whether or not we are ready to use that, because that’s the essence of deterrence that an adversary actually feels that we’ll use the capability that we have – I’m not sure we’re there yet and that goes beyond our ability to understand and to counter its military capabilities.”

“I think there’s another dimension of convincing from a policy standpoint that we’re willing to use that capability,” said Stewart.

Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) is set to split from the National Security Agency (NSA) and reached full operational capability in 2010. At Congress’ direction, CYBERCOM will become a full unified combatant command outside of Strategic Command where it exists now.

Speaking of his role as head of the military’s defense intelligence agency, the DIA, Stewart told Cipher Brief: “My greatest measure of success is that I help a combatant commander see an event early enough so that he can set his forces and counter that event. If I can help mitigate surprise, if I can help when they go into a conflict, and I can provide that additional depth of analysis that helps them to be successful and win the fight that they are in, and if in another combatant command I can help them deter conflict because of the depth of analysis, then to me that’s victory…”

“Let’s focus on understanding the adversary’s military capabilities so that we can prevent war,” he added.  “And if we can’t prevent war, let’s beat the stuffings out of anyone who comes against us.”

Lieutenant General Stewart received his baccalaureate degree from Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, where he majored in history. He also earned master’s degrees in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College, Newport, R.I. and in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Air Force and Navy have launched efforts to reduce or eliminate online training requirements for civilian and military personnel, Federal News Radio reported Monday.

The station said the Navy has removed nearly all mandatory computer-based training programs for the civilian workforce except for the Defense Department‘s Cyber Awareness Challenge, which is required to track cyber hygiene across DoD.

The military branch also transferred other courses to local commands where supervisors are expected to transform the online curriculum into face-to-face lectures.

Federal News Radio also reported the Air Force’s move to cut back computer-based training requirements from more than 60 hours to 30 hours per year as part of a larger effort to remove additional duties that are not part of airmen’s core responsibilities.

The service branch requested authorization from DoD and Congress to alter the length and the content of the Cyber Awareness Challenge and change training requirements for four other department-wide courses.

The House Armed Services Committee has introduced a bill that would allocate $621.5 billion in defense base budget and $75 billion in overseas contingency operations funds for fiscal year 2018, The Hill reported Monday.

HASC’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2018 reflects a $28.5 billion increase from President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget request.

The bill would equip the U.S. Army with additional 17,000 troops, authorize a 2.4 percent increase in service personnel’s pay, add $2.5 billion in funds for missile defense programs and procure five more ships for the U.S. Navy.

Those ships include two Littoral Combat Ships, one destroyer, one expeditionary support base ship and one amphibious dock landing vessel, the report added.

Reuters also reported that that measure would authorize the Defense Department to procure a total of 87 aircraft in 2018, including 17 additional Lockheed Martin-built F-35 jets and 22 Boeing-made F-18s.

The 2018 NDAA includes proposed changes to DoD’s acquisition practices and seeks to allow the military to procure commercial-off-the-shelf goods from e-commerce markets.

Members of the House committee are scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss the bill, the report added.

The House Appropriations Committee has unveiled a $658.1 billion draft spending bill that would allocate $584.2 billion in discretionary funds to the Defense Department for the government’s 2018 fiscal year and another $73.9 billion in war funds, The Hill reported Sunday.

The panel’s proposed defense budget is $18.4 billion more than the amount stated in President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget blueprint, according to the newspaper.

“This legislation is a step forward in rebuilding our military and ensuring our nation is ready to meet any new or existing threat,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-New Jersey).

Defense News reported the bill includes $149 billion for the procurement of military weapons and equipment and $21.5 billion for the construction of 11 new U.S. Navy ships.

The legislation would also help DoD buy additional aircraft such as 84 F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin; 56 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from Lockheed’s Sikorsky subsidiary; 12 MQ-1 Gray Eagle drones from General Atomics; and 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, seven P-8A Poseidons and 15 KC-46 Pegasus tankers from Boeing.