Examining the ‘defending forward’ concept and the intersection between DoD and the private sector speaks to aligning instruments of national power to set the stage for the consolidation of Internet connectivity and an expansion of that capability. Both outcomes feed a new understanding of what a professional military does in the cyber age to safeguard a civilian interface that is revamping the norms of government across state boundaries. Implementing an effective cyber strategy necessitates recasting the US military’s cyber operations to support civilian efforts.