One of the units at Metro Augusta’s largest employers has a new Commanding General during a change of command ceremony.
MG Christopher Eubank was elevated at Fort Gordon. He is the sixth commanding general for ARCYBER. He replaced LTG Maria Barrett.
ARCYBER’s 16,500 soldiers, civilians, and contractors represent more than one-third of Fort Gordon’s total employment of military and civilians.
Presiding over the ceremony was 41st Chief of Staff of the Army, GEN Randy George, the 41st Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. He said command and control are at the heart of everything, and that is the responsibility of the ARCYBER team.
“We are in what I think is the most complex and volatile time that I’ve seen in my Army career. There’s unparalleled cooperation between adversaries, crises, and conflicts simmering across the globe, and we are in an era where civilian technology is evolving more rapidly than defense technology,” he said. “That tech has battlefield applications. Our enemies are learning fast and adapting every day. We must adapt faster. This team here at Fort Gordon gets it.”
Barrett was named commanding general at ARCYBER in May 2022. She said the past three years have been particularly challenging, singling out the need to protect US troops in the aftermath of the attack in Israel and the subsequent 12-day war, along with avoiding conflict with Iran.
She said they think of their role in terms of operate, defend, attack, influence, and inform. She singled out the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) for its leadership in operation.
She said she was grateful for the groundwork laid by the commanding generals who preceded her.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done with continuous transformation, hundreds of actions that you take daily to secure the Army’s network hidden from the eyes of the rest of the Army and its 1 million users,” she said. Thanks for making the network and systems work for war fighters and business operations alike in our army. I look forward to seeing everything that is on the horizon.”
Standing on that horizon as the new commanding general, Eubanks said he was joining a professional team of warriors, calling them the tip of the spear in the cyber warfare domain.
“We are in constant contact with our adversaries. We must be ready when called upon to fight and win through the cyberspace domain, enabling the U.S. Army to establish dominance in the land domain, whenever and wherever needed around the globe and in defense of the homeland,” he said. “Your abilities are unmatched, and I’m in awe of what you do every day. I’m confident that you will continue to operate, defend, attack, inform, and influence when called upon.”
George reminded members of ARCYBER that the innovation they develop transforms the rest of the army. As the unit becomes more data-centric, it can act rapidly. Part of that is the work to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) across the digital battle space.
