CyberArmy Brigades FAQ

The following are some Frequently Asked Questions about brigades, intended to inform those new (and not so new) to the site on what brigades are and do, and how to sign up.

Please direct any questions/feedback about this document to:
General snarkles - webgeek at snarkles dot net.

What is a 'brigade'?

A brigade is a group of CyberArmy members who work together to help along CyberArmy's goals as illustrated in our mission statement. Each brigade focuses their efforts into a different area, and all work together to improve CyberArmy as an organization and help in the fight towards self-regulation of the Internet.

Brigades provide CyberArmy members with the opportunity to work as members and leaders of a team, to gain hands-on experience and skills in a variety of different areas, and to make a difference in the world at large.

What brigades are available for me to join?

Below is a brief overview of what brigades exist, and what each is responsible for:

Externally focused brigades: These brigades concentrate on activism, education, etc. outside of CyberArmy.

Ready Response	brigade page	website
Ready Response helps with researching and completing CyberArmy missions.

Privacy Commission	brigade page	website
The CyberArmy Privacy Commission brigade examines and reports on privacy threats, informs users on how to protect themselves, and branches out to other free speech and human rights organizations to put a stop to abusers of privacy.

Open Source Institute	brigade page	website
Open Source Institute is CyberArmy's programming brigade. Their website is a collection of news, tools, source code, and tutorials to help with CyberArmy's commitment to the Open Source movement

Exploit Research	brigade page	website
Exploit Research is responsible for discovering, testing, and reporting on exploits.

CyberArmy Pedophelia Fighters	brigade page	website
The CyberArmy Pedophelia Fighters brigade works with other outside organizations to put a stop to child pornography.

CyberArmy University	brigade page	->website ->
CyberArmy University works to educate members on a variety of topics by writing tutorials and teaching classes in real-time over IRC.


CyberArmy-focused brigades: These brigades focus on promoting, maintaining, and improving CyberArmy itself.

CyberArmy IRC	brigade page	website
CyberArmy IRC helps with maintenance, security, and user support on the CyberArmy IRC network (irc.cyberarmy.com)

CyberArmy Intelligence	brigade page	website
CyberArmy Intelligence works to protect the integrity of the Zebulun challenges, and to prevent the misuse of CyberArmy resources against its members.

CyberArmy Public Relations	brigade page	website
CyberArmy Public Relations works to spread the word about CyberArmy throughout the Internet.

Internal Command	brigade page	website
Internal Command helps with the improvement and maintenance of CyberArmy itself by providing member support, services such as shells, and other projects.

Special Operations	brigade page	website
The Special Operations brigade works on highly classified projects relating to network security.

Note that these colors correspond to the colors of member names on the forums and mess halls. So if you have questions about a particular brigade, members whose names are the same color can probably address them.

How do I join a brigade?

The entire Chain of Command is viewable here. You can double-click any brigade name to get a list of brigades underneath them. When you find one that interests you, right-click the name to go to their main brigade page.

Once there, providing your rank falls within the allowed ranks under "Group Info", there are spaces left to recruit people, the group is not set to "invite only", and you are not already in a brigade, you can click the "Join x" button to sign up with the brigade.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that you e-mail the Commanding Officer (C/O) of a group prior to joining, along with why you'd like to join the group, some of your interests and skills, and examples of previous work (if applicable). This will help to introduce yourself, help the C/O to place you within the brigade properly, and ensure that the C/O of the group you wish to join is active.

I'm a rank x! What groups can I join?

You can find a list of all brigades that currently have places available for your rank here. This list is updated every day, so make sure you check back regularly if you don't find an immediate candidate brigade you'd like to join...

The group page says I have to be rank x, but I'm only rank y. What can I do?

Though the rules vary from group to group on how strict they are with rank requirements, the best thing to do is e-mail the C/O and explain your situation. If you are able to show that you know your stuff (sending examples of previous work, for instance), most C/O's have no problem lowering their rank requirement for people who have skills and are willing to work. Alternatively, they may be able to suggest another group that fits you better within the same brigade.

How may I leave a brigade?

The only way to leave a brigade is to be discharged by your C/O. Because of this, you should make sure to only a join group in which you have an active interest and in which you plan on staying for awhile.

My C/O is inactive. What can I do?

Any C/O related problems can be addressed via the Chain of Command. If your C/O has gone missing and has not given any prior notice to anyone, e-mail his or her C/O about it. If that C/O doesn't respond within a reasonable timeframe, e-mail the next highest, and so on. Eventually you will reach someone, and any inactive C/Os may be replaced.

How can I see which brigade CA member 'abc' has joined?

You can use the following search form :