Maj. Gen. Lori Reynolds has been nominated for a third star and to serve as the recently established deputy commandant for information, according to a May 18 announcement from the Department of Defense.
Reynolds, who currently heads Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, will succeed Lt. Gen. Daniel O’Donohue, who is moving to the joint staff. The Defense Department has not yet announced a replacement for Reynolds at Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.
The Marines established this new position, the deputy commandant for information, in summer 2017 to better compete in a 21st century world, aligning all information-related capability under a single entity. This includes cyber, signals intelligence and electronic warfare, among others.
Why the Marine Corps needed a new deputy commandant
The Marine Corps has reorganized its leadership and forces to reflect a new reality: that information will play an outsized role in any future conflict.
Reynolds’ move comes as the service is standing up Marine Expeditionary Force Information Groups (MIG) under the deputy commandant. Those groups will serve as the action arm at the tactical edge.
How the Marines are mobilizing forces for information warfare
The Marine Corps is using wargames and exercises to game how to operationalize their new information environment commands.
Two of these units recently completed a series of exercises aimed at gaming what capabilities at what level might reside within the units as a way to determine how these forces will be employed in the future.
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