DISA - Defense Information Systems Agency

08/31/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/31/2026 13:52

DISA leaders issue urgent call for cyber talent to secure the DOWIN

During a joint presentation at the AFCEA TechNet Augusta 2026 conference on Aug. 20., Katrina Logan, DISA J1 Manpower and Personnel director, and LTG Paul T. Stanton, DCDC commander and DISA director, delivered a clear message to cyber professionals and students: they are hiring and they are dismantling bureaucratic barriers to do it.

"We will not function without the right talent," Stanton declared. "We cannot expect talent to fall into our laps. We must go out, seek the right people and put them where they can immediately protect our nation."

Securing the DOWIN against machine-speed threats
The urgency is driven by a shift on the battlefield. Securing the Department of War Information Network, the military's digital nervous system, is DISA's core priority.

"If the network fails, the mission fails," Logan warned.

With autonomous, AI-driven agentic threats propagating at machine speed, Logan emphasized that defenders must be equally dynamic. To recruit them, DISA J1 is shifting away from administrative inertia.

"We are aligning our recruiting velocity to match our cyber operations velocity," Logan said. To fight machine-speed threats, we have to hire at mission speed."

Confronting roadblocks at the Georgia Cyber Center
To identify administrative bottlenecks firsthand, Logan and Stanton stepped next door to the Georgia Cyber Center during the conference. Sitting down face-to-face with potential new hires, the leaders listened to candidate feedback and identified the red tape and administrative roadblocks that stall entry into civil service.

This hands-on diagnosis builds on DISA's efforts to overhaul onboarding. Logan pointed to a recent Augusta cohort of 24 cyber candidates whose primary complaint was a lack of clarity during the security clearance process.

"The feedback was, 'You all take too long.' It was hard to hear, but true," Logan admitted.

In response, DISA deployed a specialized "white-glove" team to Augusta to guide applicants through the clearance pipeline. Today, 95 percent of those candidates remain highly interested in joining DISA. Logan is leveraging lessons from this cohort to build an automated communication platform to ensure candidates receive consistent updates.

Additionally, DISA J1 is partnering with academic deans at schools like Georgia Tech and Augusta University to align background investigations with students' final semesters. "We want their credentials activated the same week they walk across the graduation stage," Logan said.

A shield of trust and the ultimate currency
While DISA is streamlining the pipeline, both leaders emphasized that standards will not be lowered. The security clearance remains a non-negotiable "shield of trust."

"We secure the nerve center of national command," Logan said. "We must establish absolute trust before handing over the keys."

Stanton agreed, calling trust the ultimate currency of defense. "The clearance process is not a bureaucratic protocol designed to slow you down. It is your first step onto the digital battlefield, entering an elite tier of global defenders."

Pushing the envelope: 'Blow it up'
Stanton, a proponent of mission command, or empowering disciplined initiative to achieve a commander's intent, expects his team to challenge stagnant processes.

Using an infantry platoon analogy, Stanton asked the crowd if they knew what a Bangalore torpedo was, an explosive device used to clear wire obstacles.

"The process stinks," Stanton said of traditional government hiring. "But you know what you do? You blow it up!"

Stanton, who had just been discussing process-busting strategies with senior executive Mark Gorak, warned: "If you can't innovate your way out of our problems, you become rapidly irrelevant. Yesterday's problem is not today's problem."

An unmatched value proposition
For cyber professionals, Logan and Stanton argued that DISA offers an unmatched mission.

"No corporate enterprise or commercial cloud provider can match our scale," Stanton said. "At DISA, your sandbox is the entire global defense infrastructure."

Operating across 228 locations worldwide, Stanton recently secured permission to utilize geographically distributed teams.

"If you want to live in Hawaii and keep China out of our networks, come see me," Stanton pitched, concluding the briefing by offering to personally swear in qualified candidates on the spot.

"If you're ready to raise your right hand and defend the Constitution, we have hiring teams standing right outside that curtain," Stanton said. "We need talent. Who is ready?"
DISA - Defense Information Systems Agency published this content on August 31, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on August 31, 2026 at 19:52 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]