SCHOOL THESIS

As can be seen, the topic of “cyber attack” involves not only various potential
definitions of what a cyber attack actually entails, but also what means are available to
either defensively or offensively respond to such an attack. While these definitions
remain fluid, they provide an essential conceptual foundation to allow policy makers to
consider how “cyber attack warning” might specifically be implemented by NORAD.
F. KEY U.S. MILITARY CYBER ORGANIZATIONS
1. Department of Defense
The Department of Defense (DOD) is the executive department of the U.S.
charged with coordinating all agencies and functions concerned directly with the U.S.
Armed Forces. (See Figures 10 and 11.)
Headed by the Secretary of Defense (SecDef), DOD has three subordinate
military departments: the Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.
DOD’s theater military operations are managed by nine Combatant Commands. (Note:
NORAD is not part of DOD, as it is a separate, binational command reporting to both the
U.S. and Canada.)
2. Joint Chief of Staff
Within the civilian DOD falls the military Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), which
consists of the Chairman JCS (CJCS); the Vice Chairman; the Chiefs of Staff of the
Army, Navy, and Air Force; the Commandant of the Marine Corps; the Chief of the
National Guard Bureau, and the administrative Joint Staff (JS). (See Figure 11.)
The CJCS serves as the primary military adviser to the president, to the SecDef,
and to the National Security Council. The JCS have no executive authority to command
combat forces, which are assigned directly to Combatant Commands. 59
59 U.S. Department of Defense, “About the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” accessed 30 Dec 2014,
http://www.jcs.mil/About.aspx.
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