INTERNATIONAL CYBERWAR 2033
defense that we established in 2015 has hardened our net and provided more than adequate workarounds to keep us online during this attack. I’m confident that we’re safe at this time.”
The president thought of her two prede- cessors and the cyber disaster of 2017, a disaster that had changed a recalcitrant Congress into a more sensible body. Still, it had taken almost five years to elect peo- ple to Congress with the courage to fund this vital system and the robotic forces that would replace boots on the ground. Indeed, it had been Congress that had pushed the Army to accelerate the devel- opment of robotic forces.
Secretary of Defense Campbell spoke now.
“We recommend that you execute option Alpha. As we speak, we have nine C-17 aircraft orbiting Eastern Europe. Each is loaded with a company, or three platoons, of robotic ground forces. On your com- mand, they will air-drop for action planned for each site. As you’re aware, we command these robotic forces digitally from stateside military posts. Their language translation capability was recently upgraded.
“Each of these robotic units,” the secre- tary continued, “is composed of both lethal and nonlethal robotic soldiers, based on their specific mission. Also, we have 13-person special operations forces teams to keep eyes and ears on enemy actions over each of the sites. Each of the SOF teams is networked with stateside controllers as well as air and ground fire units.”
The president smiled. “So, we have a very small footprint of boots on the ground.”
Campbell knew the president’s sense of humor well. “Precisely. SOF only. More treads on the ground than boots. Mean- while, all of these sites are covered with unmanned aerial vehicles, also controlled stateside and networked into the network intelligence coordinating centers. They’re helping paint the picture on your confor- mal display at this moment, as well as the displays of the rest of the team.”
“Oh,” said the DNI. “I almost forgot. Note the rapidly changing sets of dials in the lower right-hand corner of your display. That’s a consolidation of all social media networks around the world, including Russia, China, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. These sites
NOT ONLY DID THE PRESIDENT SEE THE PAST AND THE PRESENT, SHE COULD SEE THE FUTURE HER TEAM HAD PROJECTED WITH OPTION ALPHA.
“the stateside social media displays give you a running picture of the mood of our citizens. The people are speaking.”
“With your approval, ma’am, we are ready to execute option Alpha,” said Campbell.
“You have my approval,” the president said. Then, “By the way, Mot, I want to congratulate you for having had the foresight to put this in place. The Ameri- can people owe you a debt of gratitude.” The secretary of defense had trained at Harvard, served one term in the House
180 Army AL&T Magazine January–March 2015
of Representatives and one term in the Senate, and was selected by the president from the opposing party. President Smith admired him greatly.
“Thank you, ma’am, but this was not my idea. This idea and the entire strate- gic concept came from a social network created around 2015 to leverage the vast knowledge base of the retired military community. A small investment has paid off enormously.”
The president knew this vital asset well. “Remind me who’s responsible?”
“GEN Namrog,” the secretary of defense said. “He had the vision and tenacity to keep pushing this for the last 50 years.” The president could hear the admiration in her friend’s voice.
“Ah, yes. Is he still around?”
“Yes, as a matter fact is. He will be 99 on Aug. 25.”
“I’d like to thank him personally,” the president said. “Please arrange for me to visit him.”
lit up instanta-
neously shortly after 1939 hours tonight. Most importantly,” the DNI continued,
MR. LLOYD N. “NEALE” COSBY is an independent consultant to defense agencies. He holds an M.S. in international affairs from George Washington University and a B.S. in agriculture economics from the University of Kentucky. He has worked on a number of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency projects, namely SIMNET, the first networked, virtual training system, and Command Post of the Future, which became an Army program of record in 2006. He is currently working on big data projects. He is an advocate for the Army to provide standoff distance for ground forces.
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