Cyber defense a responsibility for all Airmen according to AF's top cyberspace general

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Justin Brockhoff
  • 341st Space Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Air Force Cyberspace Command will provide the United States with vital capabilities in the Global War on Terrorism and is a domain for all Airmen to be aware of and defend, according to Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, Jr., who has been charged with standing up the new command. 

General Elder, 8th Air Force commander, visited Malmstrom Air Force Base June 20 to officiate the 819th RED HORSE Squadron change of command, and following the ceremony discussed standing up Cyberspace Command and what that means to Airmen around the world. 

"As it turns out, it's very simple - as the Nation's Air Force, we conduct air, space and cyber operations and we provide integrated air, space and cyber effects," the general said. "For every Airman, the most important thing to recognize is that they are Airmen first, and our Airmen operate in the air, space and cyberspace domains." 

Cyberspace is defined by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a domain characterized by the use of electronics and the electromagnetic spectrum to store, modify and exchange data via networked systems and associated physical infrastructures, and is the newest domain in which Airmen will fly and fight, General Elder said. 

"Cyberspace is a domain that we need to defend, just like the air, land and sea," he said. "And the best way to avoid losing domination of our cyberspace is for all of our Airmen to become defenders of the cyber domain." 

In order to educate Airmen about cyberspace, the Air Force is developing the concept of giving every Airman a "cyber-sidearm," by exposing them to cyber-threats early in their military training and giving them the training and tools to counter them. 

"We want to create an awareness by letting Airmen experience these attacks in a training environment," General Elder said. "We envision that sometime in the near future, every Airman going through basic military training and officer candidate going through a commissioning program will be exposed to how an adversary could exploit network or radio capabilities." 

The Air Force will be looking for Airmen that have talents for operating in the cyber-realm, primarily by identifying Airmen with an affinity for cyberspace early in technical training, regardless of specialty, he said. The Air Force estimates that 40,000 Airmen are already performing duties that fall under the umbrella of cyber operations.
 
"Establishing 8th AF as the Air Force's cyber command recognizes that what we do in the cyber-realm is no longer just a war fighting enabler; it is actually a critical war fighting element in its own right, "General Elder said. "We will take roles that were traditionally viewed as support functions and train those people to conduct cyber operations in concert with air and space." 

During a speech in November, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne commented on the goals of creating Cyberspace Command. 

"The aim is to develop a major command that stands alongside Air Force Space Command and Air Combat Command as the provider of forces that the President, combatant commanders and the American people can rely on for preserving the freedom of access and commerce, in air, space and now cyberspace," Secretary Wynne said.