U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Lorna Mahlock has been appointed commander of the Cyber National Mission Force, succeeding U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Hartman.
The U.S. Cyber Command announced Friday that Mahlock will lead six task forces with more than 2,000 military and civilian personnel and contractors in defending national security against malicious online actors and adversaries.
Mahlock was the first black female Marine to earn the rank of major general in the service branch. She was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Southern Watch, which also took place in Iraq from 1992 to 2003.
Her career includes posts as director of the Marine Corps Instructional Management School, director of Marine Air Command and Control System Experimental and division executive officer for the European Command headquarters.
“CNMF has always been the ‘go-to’ force when our Nation has a challenge in the cyber domain,” said Gen. Paul Nakasone, CYBERCOM commander who presided over the change of command ceremony. “These joint cyber operators are a powerhouse that punch above their weight against some of the world’s most reckless and determined foreign malicious cyber actors,” added Nakasone, a seven-time inductee into the Wash100.