The Navy is offering a $26 million contract to train its cyber command personnel and the Marine Corps’.
The service’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command released a combined solicitation for a five-year program to train military personnel and civilians in the Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command and the Navy’s own Fleet Cyber Command. The $26 million contract, set aside for small business, requires the creation of both online and in-person cybersecurity courses “to meet operational standards at National-level organizations providing support to cyber security missions.”
The solicitation says the training will be aligned to support both services’ ongoing cyber development efforts. The contractor will build the curriculum around an example annual training requirement “and identify knowledge gaps such as computer science theory, information technology networks, cyber security, emerging [offensive and defensive] project technical requirements, and certified ethical hacking skills,” says the solicitation, posted last week.
The base contract will run three years with two one-year optional extensions. Under the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, the services will issue firm fixed price task orders every four to six months.
In recent years, the Navy has increased its investment in cybersecurity training for personnel departmentwide. The Navy’s Task Force Cyber Awakening recommended $300 million to be set aside in fiscal year 2016 to bolster the service’s cyber posture, with a heavy focus on training.
Likewise, Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command Commander Maj. Gen. Daniel O’Donohue testified in March 2015 that people are the most valuable asset to defending the Marine Corps’ information assets, and thus training is an imperative.
“Just as the Marine Corps remains dedicated to the notion that there is no more dangerous weapon than a Marine and his rifle, we believe the solutions to our shared problems in cyberspace revolve around our people, and not systems,” O’Donohue said before the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
“We must provide our workforce the training, tools, and resources they need to defend our nation,” he said, adding it was important to “train as we fight.”
Contractors have until May 12 to bid on the solicitation.
