Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Capt. William Fritts, a Cyber Warfare Officer, Washington Army National Guard, takes...... read more read more
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Ask Capt. William Fritts about the process of direct commissioning as a Cyber Warfare Officer and he will tell you about the struggles, the heartache, and the frustrations – but ultimately the joy that made it all worthwhile.
“I wanted to be an officer, I wanted to be a cyber-officer,” said Fritts. “I didn’t let the first no deter me, didn’t let the second no deter me nor the third, I just kept going.”
That’s why, on the morning of June 2, 2025, Fritts’ smile never faded as his wife, 1st Sgt. (Ret.) Stephanie Fritts and their kids pinned the rank of Captain on his shoulders during a ceremony at the Pierce County Readiness Center on Camp Murray.
Fritts joined the Army National Guard in 2013 as a combat medic and thrived in that role. He jumped on Active Duty Orders for Operational Support from 2016 to 2018.
“I just wanted a change, so I found a program that helped service members transition from active service and I learned about an apprenticeship program with Amazon,” said Fritts. “I interviewed, was selected and they immediately sent me to a technical training school learning about software engineering.”
In 2020, like many other Guard members, Fritts jumped at the chance to help his state recover during the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the vaccination and test kit missions.
“I took a year away to help, but then returned to Amazon to continue growing my career there,” said Fritts.
During the next two years, Fritts would continue to develop his skills, expanding to coding and cybersecurity and found that he enjoyed that more than software development.
“I was enjoying learning more about the cybersecurity side so I went back to school to earn a second bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity and information assurance from Western Governor’s University,” said Fritts. “When I finished that I immediately started at my master’s degree at the University of Washington – Tacoma in cybersecurity and leadership.”
Along with earning his degree, Fritts also completed a number of higher level cyber related certificate programs. After leaving Amazon and returning to the National Guard full-time at the Department of Information Management, he started wondering if all this education could help him become a cyber-officer in the National Guard.
“The Army had an Army Cyber Direct Commissioning Program, which would have allowed me to submit for direct commissioning at a higher level, but it had gone away for a while and the only path was going with a commissioning program and starting as a 2nd Lieutenant,” Fritts said.
Then in Nov. 2023, the Army Cyber Direct Commissioning Program returned. This specialty program provides an opportunity for professionals with cyber-related education and/or experience to be directly appointed into the Army’s Cyber Corps in the ranks of lieutenant through colonel. It is open to civilians with specific qualifications.
“I knew this was something I wanted to do so I applied in June 2024 to start the process,” said Fritts.
The process can take 18-24 months from the time of application submission to receiving the commissioned officer oath of office. The accessions goal for this program is dependent upon the needs of the Army’s operational force each year. Annually the Cyber Direct Commissioning Program direct commissions between five to 10 qualified people into the active Army, and as many as needed into the Army National Guard, but is usually less than 10 total.
“I knew it was going to be competitive but I knew with my experience and education I would have an opportunity to direct commission,” said Fritts.
After reviewing his packet, the direct commissioning board determined that Fritts was eligible for a direct commissioning at the rank of Captain, based on his education and experience.
If only it was that easy.
While the board could make a determination on rank, Fritts’ packet was causing issues because of the qualification courses. The office of personnel management believed he needed to go to a nine-month cyber officer school instead of a two-month course.
“I had reached the end of my patience and kept being told no by OPM. I just felt like no one was listening to me when I was saying, I am direct commissioning, I have all these certifications and training and that I didn’t need to go to the full nine-month school but just the two-month school,” said Fritts. “Part of the problem was conversations were happening at levels I wasn’t hearing, that was leading to people just saying no.”
Seeing his employee was getting frustrated and about to give up on his dream, Chief Warrant Officer Two Ben Brantly stepped in to help.
“He reached out to one of his warrant officer friends who was in human resources. I met with her and this was the first time I really felt like someone outside of my chain of command at Medical Command or at the DOIM was really hearing what I was saying,” said Fritts. “She understood that my schooling needs as a cyber-officer were different and she was able to advocate on my behalf and it was her hard work along with everything I had done that really put this over the edge.”
Fritts ceremony on the drill floor of the PCRC, filled with family, friends, cyber and medical professionals, really showcased the community that rallied behind him and helped make this special commissioning happen.
“What can I say about Fritts, he has been at the Medical Command a long time, maybe too long, while he has been doing this process,” said Col. April Fritch, commander of the Washington Army National Guard Medical Command. “We will miss him when he leaves, he is an exceptional leader, soldier, colleague and friend and we wish him the best of luck.”
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2025 14:57 |
| Story ID: | 499760 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 377 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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