India Thomson, Strategic Engagement and Outreach Lead, Cyber & Specialist Operations Command
Within Cyber & Specialist Operations Command's (CSOC) Headquarters sits a team of strategists, playing critical roles in aligning the Command to Defence’s priorities and empowering personnel to see their place and impact within it.
India Thomson, Strategic Engagement and Outreach Lead at the Cyber & Specialist Operations Command, has been supporting one of the most significant transitions in Defence – helping CSOC evolve into a unified command that brings together cyber operations, specialist training, innovation, and influence capabilities under one strategic umbrella.
Her work sits at the crucial intersection of strategy, engagement and communication. Over the past year, she’s been at the forefront of some of CSOC's most important strategic initiatives, supporting both the Strategic Defence Review and the Command Strategy.
Connecting people to purposeFor me, communicating strategic direction goes beyond simply sharing updates. It's about helping people see the bigger picture – understanding how their individual work connects to our broader mission, and how CSOC fits into the wider Defence landscape. This perspective has informed my work on outreach activities like our Citizens Panel, which gathered valuable insights to shape the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) launch, and my efforts to strengthen relationships with think tanks.
CSOC brings together an extraordinary range of specialist capabilities – from cyber operations to education, from innovation to influence activities. What unites these diverse capabilities is our shared purpose: delivering Defence outcomes through expertise, collaboration and clarity of strategic direction.
Supporting the Strategic Defence ReviewAs part of the SDR core planning team, I worked alongside colleagues to develop and refine the propositions that shaped Defence's future direction. My contributions included reviewing complex content, analysing proposals, and ensuring our ideas remained clear, coherent and aligned with wider Defence priorities. This detailed work behind the scenes helped ensure that CSOC's unique capabilities were properly represented in Defence's strategic thinking.
When it was published, I played a vital role in translating its implications for our workforce. Working collaboratively with strategy and communications teams, I helped create comprehensive communication plans that reached different audiences across the Command. Through briefing packs and tailored messaging, I ensured our people understood what the changes meant for their work and their future.
Developing our Command StrategyI also contributed significantly to developing our Command Strategy – a document that provides CSOC with clear purpose and gives our people a shared sense of direction. My focus on making the strategy clear, purposeful and aligned with Defence policy reflects the kind of strategic thinking that enables CSOC to deliver its mission effectively.
Supporting CSOC's transition from Strategic Command has been another key area of my work. I helped shape the strategic narrative that explains who we are and what we do – narrative that has already been used in high-profile speeches, including those delivered by Commander General Jim Hockenhull at DSEI. This work demonstrates how individual contributions ripple outward to support CSOC's external engagement and reputation.
Ready to meet future challengesAs CSOC continues to evolve and strengthen its role in Defence, I'm committed to ensuring we maintain clarity of purpose and strategic direction. My work in shaping our narrative, engaging our workforce, and communicating our mission demonstrates how strategic communication contributes to our collective capability.
Through dedication to excellence, strategic thinking, and collaborative approach, we're building the foundation for CSOC's world-leading capabilities. We're the driving force behind our ability to deter threats, support our allies, and prepare for future challenges across all domains of warfare.
Our people are the lifeblood of CSOC – a dedicated force of 26,000 specialists stationed at over 130 sites worldwide. From cyber warriors and medics to intelligence analysts, special forces, educators, and Defence attachés, our specialists are ready to fight across all domains to protect the UK.
Our specialist operators are across every UK operation, delivering the capabilities you don't usually see - or those you can't.
seen at 10:30, 19 December in Cyber & Specialist Operations Command.