Posted on 08/14/2008 7:29:52 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
The Air Force on Monday suspended all efforts related to development of a program to become the dominant service in cyberspace, according to knowledgeable sources. Top Air Force officials put a halt to all activities related to the establishment of the Cyber Command, a provisional unit that is currently part of the 8th Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, sources told Nextgov.
An internal Air Force e-mail obtained by Nextgov said, “Transfers of manpower and resources, including activation and reassignment of units, shall be halted.” Establishment of the Cyber Command will be delayed until new senior Air Force leaders, including Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz, sworn in today, have time to make a final decision on the scope and mission of the command.
The Cyber Command, headed by Maj. Gen. William Lord, touted on its Web site its capabilities to “secure our nation by employing world-class cyberspace capabilities” and had ambitious plans to have a cyber command presence in all 50 states.
The Cyber Command hyped its capabilities on TV, in Web video advertisements and in a series of high-profile presentations conducted by Lord. The hard sell may have been the undoing of the Cyber Command, which seemed to be a grab by the Air Force to take the lead role in cyberspace. Both the Army and Navy have similar expertise in cyber operations, service sources said.
Philip Coyle, senior adviser with the Center for Defense Information, a security policy research group in Washington, said he believes the Navy’s Network Warfare Command and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center have led the way in cyberspace. The Army engages in cyberspace operations daily in Afghanistan and Iraq, said Coyle, who served as assistant secretary of Defense and director of its operational test and evaluation office from 1994 to 2001.
The decision to ratchet back the Cyber Command may have come from Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who wants to see a greater role for the Navy in cyberspace, said an Air Force source. Coyle speculated that the Air Force may have been too public in pushing the Cyber Command and is now suffering from its own hubris.
The decision to pull the plug on the Cyber Command – even temporarily – is just the latest in a string of bad news for the service, Coyle said. This includes Defense Secretary Robert Gates' request in June for the resignations of Air Force Chief of Staff T. Michael “Buzz” Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne because of the service’s poor management of nuclear weapons. Also in June, the Government Accountability Office questioned the Air Force’s selection of Northrop Grumman over Boeing for a multibillion-dollar aerial refueling contract and recommended that the service reopen the competition. It did so in July.
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Considering the cyberwarfare capabilities of Russia and China, that is probably a good idea to have something like this.
Considering the cyberwarfare capabilities of Russia and China, that is probably a good idea to have something like this.
I would put it under Homeland Security.
Redundant to what the NSA already has.
The whole “cybercommand” thing was just another USAF attempt to monopolize an emerging technology, just as they tried to monopolize unmanned aircraft last year. Looks like SecDef Gates is putting his foot down about that kind of thing, though. Good on him.
Makes sense that the Air Force should head this up.
I mean a bunch of men and women sitting around in comfy chairs all day in an air conditioned room drinking coffee, it just screams Air Force to me. ;^)
Hey! I stood around in an air conditioned room all day drinking coffee and slaving over a hot soldering iron.
(Well, I did sit a lot, but THOSE BENCH STOOLS WEREN'T THAT COMFORTABLE!)
We squids used to hassle the Air Force types by claiming that their new recruits were issued 'jammies with feet in them. Always got a reaction with that one.
Sometimes redundancy is a good thing, but I’m not familiar with what the NSA is doing.
I wouldn't. If it was, you would have to deal with all the affirmative action and civil service rules for hiring. Wouldn't get the best people you need for the job.
I feel your pain... (those wooden stools are a bit painful after a while)
Oh c’mon. I remember a couple years ago the Navy was bragging how they got new convection stoves for their submarine fleet which could make a perfect cake.
WOW a stove that bakes a cake! Impressive. :)
Doesn’t inspire much confidence that these people know what the f*** they’re doing. Are these the same people we’re suppose to depend on to launch ICBMs, shoot down ICBMs? I suspect that I collection of socially inept high school kids could do a lot more than these clods can. Rediculous.
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