Lead cyber operations teams conducting offensive and defensive cyberspace operations in support of National Guard missions. Plan and execute cyber missions while protecting critical infrastructure and homeland defense networks.
Officer - College Degree Required, STEM Preferred
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Guard cyber officers lead a team of specialists who mostly have serious civilian technology jobs, which changes how you lead. Drill weekends go to mission planning, authority and legal review, training management, readiness reporting and developing people whose civilian expertise often exceeds your own. Extra duty days are common in this branch, because certifying a cyber team takes more than twenty four training assemblies a year. When a state agency or county government gets hit with ransomware, Guard cyber elements can be activated to help assess and recover under the governor's authority. You commission through your state's Officer Candidate School or through ROTC, typically while already working in technology or finishing a degree.
You learn to direct cyber operations inside a framework of law, policy and authority that civilian security managers rarely encounter this early. Technical fluency across networks, operating systems and adversary behavior is expected even though your hands are not the ones on the keyboard. Leading part time specialists teaches persuasion, delegation and the honest assessment of skills you did not personally teach. You practice briefing non technical commanders, writing for senior audiences, and making resource and manning decisions with a thin budget. Holding and managing a security clearance becomes routine, and so does coordinating with agencies that use none of your vocabulary.
Command over experts builds credibility you have to earn rather than assume, and that lesson transfers to every civilian management job. You develop the nerve to decide with partial information and then defend the decision out loud. The role grows intellectual honesty, since this field punishes anyone who pretends to be current. Writing and speaking get sharper because senior leaders act on your summary and never see your data. Balancing a civilian career against a demanding branch also teaches genuine discipline about how you spend a week.
The clearance itself is a durable asset, and in cleared technology hiring it often matters as much as your resume. Security operations leadership is scarce in the civilian market, so veterans of this branch move into security program management, incident response leadership and consulting. Because you serve part time, the civilian career never pauses, and many officers reach senior private sector roles and field grade rank together. Federal agencies and defense integrators recruit Guard cyber officers directly, sometimes into the same buildings they already work in. Graduate study in business or technology, helped by federal and state education benefits, rounds out a strong position by your thirties.
Your morning opens on the cyber operations floor, reviewing mission taskings and the network threat picture with your team leads. You spend the day planning and directing offensive and defensive cyberspace operations, syncing with higher headquarters, and guiding your operators through complex missions. Balancing strategy and hands-on oversight, you protect critical infrastructure and homeland-defense networks throughout the shift.
Related career-field video—not specific to National Guard 17A.
No suitable exact-MOS video was verified in the recorded search. This does not establish that none exists.
Related field: cyber operations. Source occupation: Army 17C.
This Army assignment is not a National Guard schedule or service commitment.
Learn what it takes to be 17C, Cyber Operations Specialist with Staff Sgt. Mosac. (U.S. Army video by Staff Sgt. Matthew Garrett).
Official publisher description and direct video page checked; playback not independently watched. Checked 2026-10-25. This assignment may not reflect every posting in this career.
$77,814–$144,392
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
These annual examples assume full-time active duty, not part-time drill pay.
Possibilities for serving Soldiers, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
National Guard participation also requires component/unit school-seat approval; confirm availability and requirements with your unit.
Earned by successfully completing Ranger School's demanding leadership and field training.
Not restricted to combat MOSs. Requires selection, a school slot and current course prerequisites. The tab does not mean assignment to the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Recognizes successful airborne qualification, including the required training jumps.
Support specialties can attend too; the Army explicitly gives human resources and wheeled-vehicle mechanics as examples. Requires a school slot and medical, physical and course qualification.
Earned through Air Assault School, covering helicopter operations, sling loads and rappelling.
Available across job specialties, not just combat roles, subject to unit nomination, available seats and current school requirements.
A waiver-dependent opportunity outside engineering; earned by successfully completing the Sapper Leader Course.
Conditional opportunity: Soldiers outside engineering must submit a waiver to attend. Approval is not guaranteed; all other course requirements still apply.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For National Guard 17A Cyber Operations Officer, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Army National Guard describes technical warrant specialties and a separate helicopter-pilot route. Technical options depend on the Soldier's MOS. This branch-level information does not establish eligibility, a state vacancy, or a promotion ceiling for this listing.
Army National Guard warrant career guidanceService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
Guard applicants work with their State, Territory, or DC Warrant Officer Strength Manager on qualifications and a predetermination packet. Approval and required training are separate from promotion; an Army feeder match alone does not establish Guard eligibility or a state vacancy.
USAREC National Guard applicant processSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Lead cyber operations teams conducting offensive and defensive cyberspace operations in support of National Guard missions. Plan and execute cyber missions while protecting critical infrastructure and homeland defense networks.
Guard cyber officers lead a team of specialists who mostly have serious civilian technology jobs, which changes how you lead. Drill weekends go to mission planning, authority and legal review, training management, readiness reporting and developing people whose civilian expertise often exceeds your own. Extra duty days are common in this branch, because certifying a cyber team takes more than twenty four training assemblies a year. When a state agency or county government gets hit with ransomware, Guard cyber elements can be activated to help assess and recover under the governor's authority. You commission through your state's Officer Candidate School or through ROTC, typically while already working in technology or finishing a degree.
You learn to direct cyber operations inside a framework of law, policy and authority that civilian security managers rarely encounter this early. Technical fluency across networks, operating systems and adversary behavior is expected even though your hands are not the ones on the keyboard. Leading part time specialists teaches persuasion, delegation and the honest assessment of skills you did not personally teach. You practice briefing non technical commanders, writing for senior audiences, and making resource and manning decisions with a thin budget. Holding and managing a security clearance becomes routine, and so does coordinating with agencies that use none of your vocabulary.
The clearance itself is a durable asset, and in cleared technology hiring it often matters as much as your resume. Security operations leadership is scarce in the civilian market, so veterans of this branch move into security program management, incident response leadership and consulting. Because you serve part time, the civilian career never pauses, and many officers reach senior private sector roles and field grade rank together. Federal agencies and defense integrators recruit Guard cyber officers directly, sometimes into the same buildings they already work in. Graduate study in business or technology, helped by federal and state education benefits, rounds out a strong position by your thirties.
Officer - College Degree Required, STEM Preferred. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
A civilian can pursue this specialty through an officer accession path, subject to eligibility and assignment. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Army G-1 DA Pam 611-21, chapter 3: officer branches and functional areas (historical public consolidation) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Advertised — National Guard, as of 2026-09-28Deployment likelihood: Lower*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.