Highlights
– US Air Force decides not to create a separate full-fledged Cyber Command
– Officials representing 18 different states vie for Cyber Command headquarters
– Cyber security experts skeptical about the Air Force’s reorganization plans
The United States Air Force (USAF) announced on October 6, 2008 that it will not be creating a separate full-fledged Cyber Command, but instead will be creating a “numbered air force” within the Air Force Space Command tasked with defending the Department of Defense’s (DoD) computer networks and, when necessary, launching cyber attacks against military targets.
The announcement comes after a temporary hold was placed on the new command on August 14, 2008 in order to give the Air Force’s new senior leadership an opportunity to make a final decision concerning the scope and mission of the command.
In the near to mid-term, we expect the Air Force to establish a firm plan and mission statement for its future cyber operations unit, select a permanent location for this unit and continue training air force personnel to conduct cyber warfare and defend the military’s computer networks. It is important for the Air Force to continue with its cyber plans to avoid falling behind in the cyber warfare race against other nations.
Provisional Cyber Command – One Year Later
The announcement for the creation of the Cyber Command was made on November 2, 2006, and in October 2007, a provisional command was established at Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, Louisiana. The provisional command began with a staff of approximately 160 personnel and was charged with increasing the digital defense of the Global Information Grid, the military’s communications network. It has also been working on identifying ways the Air Force should organize, train and equip its forces to defend itself in cyberspace.
Original plans for the Cyber Command included a US$1 billion budget and was to create up to 500 military and civilian jobs. The Air Force had plans to activate the new Cyber Command on October 1, 2008, and for the past year governors and other politicians from 18 states had been working to entice military and congressional leaders to make their state the final headquarters for the Cyber Command. The leaders were well aware of the positive economic impact the Cyber Command could have had on their communities.
• City officials in Bossier, Louisiana broke ground in January 2008 on a “Cyber Innovation Center,” a US$100 million office complex next to Barksdale Air Force Base that was designed to be the future home to defense contractors, cyber innovators and academia.
• Politicians in California were also working to place the Cyber Command headquarters in their state. Rural Yuba City, California, home of Beale Air Force Base, gathered 53 signatures from the state’s congressional delegation in an effort to establish the Cyber Command in California arguing that access to the technical expertise of Silicon Valley would prove useful.
The Air Force’s latest announcement has dashed the hopes of many of these communities of infusing their local economy with large governmental contracts and several hundred new jobs.
Many of the details surrounding the reorganization are unknown at this time. According to an Air Force spokesman at Barksdale, more details concerning what will happen to staff members of the provisional command and where the Air Force will base the new cyber operations unit will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.
Despite these uncertainties, the Air Force has continued to prepare its soldiers for cyber warfare in the twenty-first century. In December 2007, the Air Force graduated its first group of cyber warriors from a 38 day training program at Hurlburt Air Force Base in Hurlburt Field, Florida. Cyber warriors first train with the 229th Information Operations Squadron in Vermont, then attend further training in Hurlburt with the 39th Information Operations Squadron.
New Plans Cause Concern
Many in the military and cyber security community view the delays and new plans for a scaled back Air Force cyber operations unit as detrimental to the overall US cyber defense strategy against skilled terrorists and hackers in countries like Russia and China. Sami Saydjari, chairman of the group Professionals for Cyber Defense who also heads an online security consulting company in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, stated that China is ahead of the US in the cyberspace race, and the level of damage to the country by a cyber attack could cost the US trillions of dollars.
• According to a 2007 Pentagon report, China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) is aggressively attempting to achieve “electronic dominance” over each of its global rivals by 2050, particularly the US, Britain, Russia and South Korea. Saydjari believes the DoD will eventually need to establish a command to coordinate cyber tactics across the military.
Cyber security experts agree that the recent cyber attacks by Russia against key governmental targets preceding the military invasion of Georgia underscores the need for the Air Force to make cyber defense a top priority. Almost every entity within the US military is dependent upon digital networks for communication and information gathering, and without a sizeable, effective, and well trained cyber force, our military forces could be impacted in future conflicts.
