Army introducing IT vertical that will include 7,000 digital officers – Defense Ministry
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced that an army IT vertical will be established in the army, which will include at least 7,000 digital officers.
"From the very beginning, we introduced the CDTO institution—deputy digital transformation officers. Today, the Ministry of Defense will announce the development of this structure of digital transformation officers, which will be implemented in our Defense Forces. This structure has allowed us to work simultaneously across different ministries and implement various changes," said First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov at the Digital Defense Forum in Kyiv on Monday.
He said that today there are 45 CDTOs in central executive bodies, 15 regional CDTOs, and more than 1,350 digital community leaders.
"It's important that digitalization in the army be comprehensive—from the ministry and the General Staff down to every battalion. To achieve this, we're building an army IT vertical... For the armed forces, this means more than 7,000 digital officers who will work in sync and instill a digital culture in every unit. These people are already working on the ground, and we'll unite them into a single network. They will ensure even greater speed and effectiveness in the digitalization of our troops," noted Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal.
According to Oksana Ferchuk, Deputy Minister of Defense for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalization, such digital officers will be present in every unit, from battalion, brigade, corps, operational command, command, as well as in every directorate of the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense.
"The new central department for digital transformation and technological development at the General Staff manages the digital IT vertical, which will be built across all commands, branches, and arms of the armed forces, namely: command, operational command, army corps, brigade, and battalion. All these units will have, in some cases more, in others less, units of digital officers," Ferchuk explained.
According to her, these digital officers will coordinate the implementation of systems across units, collect rapid feedback, and serve as architects and commissioners of new services that don't yet exist but are needed by the military.
"We're tentatively planning to have up to 7,000 digital officers in units and commands. A major challenge will be selecting them correctly. These people must have IT knowledge and expertise. If you appoint someone without IT expertise to this position, we'll waste time and resources," Ferchuk stated.
She stated that this transformation will begin in December, and the formation and filling of digital officer positions will begin in January.
Among other things, she stated that since September, she has been working on the Digital Transformation Committee, which brings together representatives from the military commands, the General Staff, and the Ministry of Defense on digitalization.