All nine Democratic members of Maryland’s congressional delegation urged leaders of the appropriations committees to affirm an $11 million increase in spending for U.S. Cyber Command, the cyber warfare agency that’s headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, according to a letter obtained by The Banner.

The message comes after five personnel associated with the command at the Anne Arundel County base died by suicide within a five-week span this summer. The $11 million funding was first requested by Gen. Joshua Rudd, who leads the command along with the National Security Agency, out of concerns that cyber operators needed more resources to prevent burnout and the larger degradation of their workforce.

The letter describes U.S. Cyber Command as central to Maryland’s national security community. The agency employs civilians and service members from across the state to conduct demanding missions in cyberspace.

“We are troubled by recent public reporting describing several deaths by suicide among personnel in cyber operations and the Fort Meade community over a short period,” said the letter, dated Monday. “The concentration of these tragedies within a small, highly specialized workforce demands sustained attention and an institutional response proportionate to the operational strain these personnel bear.”

Advertise with us

People within the agency and working on the Cyber Mission Force, its operational arm, can be deployed in place for two- or three-year assignments without clear start or end points. The cyber force must be available at all hours of the day to address threats and conduct operations, without the protected recovery breaks often found in military deployments. The classified nature of their work also makes it difficult to discuss stressors with family or most medical professionals, who can lack the security clearance or access to the secure facilities necessary to provide care.

The letter said such conditions isolate personnel and delay care. With a weakened workforce, operations at the command become more vulnerable and less effective.

Traditional models for care “do not always give cyber personnel timely access to appropriately cleared professionals in the facilities where they work,” the letter said.

In a previous interview, state Sen. Dawn Gile said she was concerned that a shortage of behavioral health practitioners in the state also could be contributing to the problem.

Congress and the Department of Defense already have recognized that the resources available to workers in the cyber warfare agency do not fully meet the demands of the job, following a study that resulted from a 2024 defense spending bill. And while the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which controls military funding, expanded mental health services by integrating behavioral health practitioners with security clearances within cyber units, the force still fails to provide support teams or care embedded within the command consistently, the letter said.

Advertise with us

The $11 million is intended to fund “High Performance Team Training” for Cyber Command as part of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, which will be considered by the Senate. The funds would go toward embedding mental health professionals within the agency and closing a gap in funding within the 2026 defense spending bill.

The letter said such support would improve access to care inside secure facilities and allow officials to identify concerns more rapidly. The professionals also would help commanders establish recovery periods and sustainable training for cyber operators. Other high-demand military communities work with similar models that are designed to treat psychological health as part of their readiness requirements.

“Recruiting, clearing and developing cyber operators takes years,” the delegation said in the letter, adding that losing experienced personnel increases costs, disrupts operations, damages the country’s ability to defend itself and hurts Maryland families.

The letter urged Congress to establish a system of care and suicide prevention, as opposed to relying on short-term interventions following tragedy.

The Banner previously reported that Kevin Stallings, 36, an Air Force technical sergeant at Cyber Command, and Kevin Paulson, 40, a captain in the Maryland Air National Guard and a cyber operations officer for the NSA, were among the five personnel who died in the suicide cluster. Their deaths occurred about a week apart.

“One loss of life is one too many,” the letter said.