II MIG Activates First Ever COMMSTRAT Company

Photo By Cpl. Tiana Boyd | Marines with 8th Communications Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group attend the activation of command ceremony for the Defensive Cyberspace Operations Internal Defense Measures (DCO-IDM) Company on Camp Lejeune, N.C., July 16, 2018. In order to address the increasing cyberspace threat to the Marine Air Ground Task Force the DCO-IDM Company will perform a variety of capabilities which include mission assurance actions, actively hunting for advanced persistent threats that evade routine security measures. The company will dynamically reestablish, re-secure, reroute, reconstitute, or isolate degraded or compromised local networks in response to attack, exploitation, intrusion, or effects of malware on the Department of Defense Internal Network or other assets they are directed to defend. The company will support active cyber defense to proactively defend against anticipated attacks in cyberspace. Capt. Ronald Ellsworth took command of DCO-IDM Company as the company commander. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tiana Boyd and LCpl. Heather Atherton)  

JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

01.11.2019

Story by Cpl. Nikki Morales 

Marine Corps Installations East       

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – The first Communication Strategy and Operations Company (COMMSTRAT Co.) in the Marine Corps was officially activated during a ceremony at the II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group headquarters building on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Jan. 11.
The establishment of the COMMSTRAT Co. is a step forward for the Marine Corps’ new focus on operations in a modern, technologically complex battlefield where control over information is vital.
In 2016, the Commandant identified operations in the information environment as a key priority. Acknowledging that fire and maneuver alone is no longer adequate to achieve battlespace success, the Marine Corps re-designated the MEF Headquarters Group to the MEF Information Group (MIG) in order to integrate the Marine Corps’ conventional firepower with information-related capabilities to gain the asymmetric advantage.
As a key component of this effort, the COMMSTRAT Co. was activated on July 6, 2018, but due to operational requirements supporting NATO Exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 18, the official ceremony was postponed.
“Coming into II MIG, I honestly didn’t know what to expect,” said Maj. Andrew J. Bormann, commanding officer, II MIG COMMSTRAT Co. “There’s so many concepts out there right now, so many draft statements. The Marines that are part of this unit are paving the way. They’re innovating, they’re coming up with new ideas, and they’re coming up with new ways to produce products to communicate this story. They surprise me every single day.”
During the ceremony, Col. Jordan D. Walzer, commanding officer, II MIG, presented the II MIG COMMSTRAT Co. guidon to Bormann, signifying the official “standing up” of the new company.
The purpose of the II MIG COMMSTRAT Co. is to provide Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) command elements with deployable task organized COMMSTRAT capabilities, which create communication products and support command element engagement in order to enhance the MAGTF’s ability to maneuver in the operating environment.
“I’m proud to be a part of this,” said Walzer. “Any time I get to see these Marines working whether it’s the photographers, the Marines putting a story together or doing graphic design, it’s just absolutely amazing. The process itself is interesting, but it’s always exciting to see that final product once you’ve seen it all put together and the effect that it has.”
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• Date Taken: 01.11.2019
• Date Posted: 01.15.2019 16:02
• Story ID: 307136
• Location: JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, US