Senior military cyber operator removed from Russia task force

A senior U.S. military cyber operator responsible for overseeing efforts against Russia was dismissed from duty last week by the head of U.S. Cyber Command’s elite digital warfighting unit. 

Air Force Lt. Col. Jason Gargan, the commander of a joint task force within the Cyber National Mission Force aligned against Moscow, was “relieved for cause” due to disagreements over operations by the organization’s chief, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Lorna Mahlock, three people with knowledge of the situation told Recorded Future News.

Traditionally, to be relieved under such circumstances means a loss of trust and confidence in someone’s ability to command.

Mahlock made the decision to relieve Gargan, who took command last May, during a private discussion among senior leadership after he requested to end his assignment with the CNMF, according to two of the people. All three individuals were granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Gargan, who has been sent to another part of the CNMF, is now expected to retire by the end of 2026.

The shakeup comes as Mahlock has been nominated to be Cyber Command’s next deputy chief. She most recently served as the first military deputy director for combat support at the National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Directorate and previously was the Marine Corps’ first female chief information officer.

Last week’s incident is the latest change among the top ranks at Cyber Command, which has been without a Senate-confirmed leader for more than nine months. President Donald Trump’s pick to helm the command, and the NSA, will have his first confirmation hearing this week.

Gargan’s removal is unusual in the roughly 12-year history of the CNMF, a sub-unified command under Cyber Command. Given that its personnel come from across the armed services, joint task force commanders and other senior leaders who aren’t performing are typically rotated out, rather than dismissed.

The CNMF itself is made up of 39 joint teams and features the Pentagon’s most talented digital operators, organized into task forces with specific missions or against specific threat actors — such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea — that serve as the linchpin of the command’s online activities.

The joint task force on Russia is one of the largest, with anywhere from 300 to 400 personnel.

In addition, the CNMF’s director of plans, partnerships and policy turned in his resignation, though the move was not linked to Gargan’s dismissal.

“We do not discuss individual personnel actions,” a CNMF spokesperson said in a statement.