FAQs: Department of Defense DoD 8140

The DoD Directive 8140 “Cyberspace Workforce Management,” reissues, renumbers, and cancels DoD Directive (DoDD) 8570.01 to update and expand established policies and assigned responsibilities for managing the DoD cyberspace workforce. It was officially signed August 11, 2015. DoDD 8140.01 does NOT address operational employment of the work roles. Operational employment of the cyberspace workforce will be determined by the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, and other DoD Components to address mission requirements.

The DoD 8570 and DoD 8140 programs are structured differently, so there isn’t a direct comparison or "crosswalk" between them. However, certifications from 8570 may still apply to 8140, depending on the specific work roles and skill levels required for a position. DoD 8140 focuses on work roles that include core and additional knowledge, skills, abilities, and tasks (KSATs). These KSATs are updated regularly to address the changing landscape of cyber threats.

DoD Directive (DoDD) 8140.01 establishes a definition for the cyber workforce, introduces the DoD Cyber Workforce Framework (DCWF) as an authoritative reference, and outlines component roles and responsibilities for the management of the DoD cyber workforce.

DoD Instruction (DoDI) 8140.02 outlines the identification, tracking, and reporting of the cyber workforce in accordance with the DCWF, enabling enterprise strategic workforce planning efforts.

DoD Manual (DoDM) 8140.03 establishes the qualification criteria for each DCWF work role to ensure personnel filling cyber positions are capable of meeting mission requirements. DoDM 8140.03 requires DoD Components to qualify their personnel coded to a DCWF work role. The seven Cyberspace Workforce Elements are:

• Cyberspace IT Workforce
• Cybersecurity Workforce
• Cyberspace Effects Workforce
• Intelligence Workforce (Cyberspace)
• Cyberspace Enablers Software Engineering
• Data/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Each work role in the DCWF includes:

• A three-digit cyber code
• A definition
• A list of tasks and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) describing what is needed to execute key functions.

DoD 8140 Work role proficiency levels (i.e., Basic, Intermediate, Advanced) provide the measure of capability to perform the work role successfully and indicate individual readiness.

DoDM 8140.03 will be implemented in a phased approach:

• 2025 - February 15: All DoD civilian employees and military service members in DCWF work roles under the cybersecurity workforce element must be qualified in accordance with DoDM 8140.03.
  
• 2026 - February 15: All DoD civilian employees and military service members in DCWF work roles under the cyberspace IT, cyberspace effects, intelligence (cyberspace), and cyberspace enabler workforce elements must be qualified in accordance with DoDM 8140.03

Personnel assigned to a position that is coded with a DCWF work role must meet the foundational, residential, and continuous professional development qualification requirements outlined for each work role at the assigned proficiency level(s).

Yes, all cyber positions must be coded. Any DoD civilian position with a designated cyber occupational series is expected to have a designated cyber work role. Exemptions must have documented justification for non-cyber coding. DoD Components should review all positions to decide whether they require the performance of cyber work.

DoD civilian employees and military service members must achieve:

1) foundational qualification requirements within nine months of assignment to a cyber work role AND 2) resident qualification requirements within 12 months of assignment to a cyber work role.

Foundational and residential qualification requirement timelines are concurrent. The contracting officer of each organization should ensure that contract support personnel are appropriately qualified. DoD Components should not pay for contractors to obtain/retain required certifications. However, DoD Components may provide additional training on local or DoD specific system procedures.

Yes, training that meets the requirements of the DoD Cyber Operations Forces satisfies the requirements of the DoDM 8140.03.

For DoD 8140 work role training based on ONLC's classes see https://www.onlc.com/dod-8140-training-classes-certifications.htm

DoD 8140 foundational qualification with all options can be found on the Cyber Exchange DoD 8140 Qualification Matrices available at:

(Public) https://public.cyber.mil/wid/dod8140/qualifications-matrices/
(NIPR) https://cyber.mil/wid/dod8140/qualifications-matrices/

 

• Contact an ONLC Education Advisor weekdays via chat or toll free, 1-800-288-8221 for direct assistance.
• Additional FAQs at https://public.cyber.mil/wid/dod8140/faq/
• DoD 8140 documents at https://public.cyber.mil/wid/dod8140/documents-library/