On Monday, Paul Son, 48, became the first person to come straight into the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in the Cyber Corps.
Son is no stranger to the military. He worked for a defense contractor and was the vice president in charge of global security and cyber threat operations for a company that has a contract with the U.S. Secretary of Defense’s office. He also had seven years of Army experience as an enlisted soldier in the Military Intelligence branch and received a Purple Heart. After Son got out of the Army, he graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and has a master’s degree from Colorado Tech.
It is highly unusual for a man to go back into the Army at 48 years old, but Son said he is sure he can pass the physical fitness test and help the Army Cyber Command, where he will work on Fort Gordon in the Technical Warfare Center identifying new software needs. Army Cyber is the tactical part of the Army that handles hacking and defending the Army’s communications network. It is headquartered on Fort Gordon and many of its soldiers work inside the National Security Agency – Georgia facility on Fort Gordon.
“It was an incredible opportunity, and it was a long time coming. Going from the board room to the briefing room was not something I anticipated, but it was a unique opportunity, a historic opportunity,” Son said. “So I couldn’t say no.”
American military branches are allowed by law to commission officers at higher ranks if they have special skills, education and extensive experience that the branches need as part of the direct commissioning program. The most common direct commissions are for those in the medical fields, such as doctors, who can skip the lower-level officer ranks of second and first lieutenant and be commissioned as captains, majors, lieutenant colonels and sometimes full colonels. Chaplains also have a direct commissioning program.
Usually, men and women become commissioned Army officers by attending and graduating from West Point, a four-year college Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, or if they already have a bachelor’s degree, by going to basic training and then passing the Army’s Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga. Those officers from the usual commissioning sources must advance from second lieutenant to first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel and then, for the rare few, move up through the four ranks of general.
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To quickly build the expertise of the Cyber branch, Army officials began swearing in commissioned officers through the direct commissioning program in April 2018, according to an unclassified PowerPoint slide about the program. On Monday, Son became the 24th person to be commissioned through the Cyber Direct Commissioning Program.
Before Son, there were two majors, 14 captains and six first lieutenants commissioned as part of the Cyber branch’s direct commissioning method.
“It really is impressive what he’s done. It’s more impressive that he has decided to come back and serve again with the United States Army,” said Brian Douglas Vile, the commandant of the Army Cyber School and the chief of the Cyber Branch, who administered the oath for Son Monday. “It’s well-earned. His lieutenant colonel rank carries every bit of weight, every bit of respect as anyone else.”
Vile said Son is the highest ranking direct commission in the history of the Army Cyber Branch.
Son won’t hold that title for long. Later this summer, if all goes as planned, the Army Cyber School will hold a direct commissioning ceremony for a colonel, which is one rank higher than Lt. Col. Son, officials said.
Joshua B. Good is a staff reporter covering Columbia County and military/veterans’ issues for The Augusta Press. Reach him at joshua@theaugustapress.com
