15 August 2008

Air Force Postpones Cyber Command for Reassessment

John Sterlicchi,

Just weeks before phase one of the much-vaunted Air Force Cyber Command was scheduled to go live, the service has announced it is reassessing its efforts.

Despite that reassessment, “The Air Force remains committed to providing full-spectrum cyber capabilities to include global command and control, electronic warfare and network defense” said a statement issued from Barksdale Air Force Base, LA.

Barksdale was considered a front-runner among about two dozen other Air Force bases and Air National Guard facilities vying to host the headquarters of the command, reported Gannett News. The Air Force had planned to announce a list of finalists by mid-November and select a site by September 2009.

Phase one of AFCYBER was scheduled to go live 1 October but now, the statement read, “The secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force have considered delaying currently planned actions on Air Force Cyber Command to allow ample time for a comprehensive assessment of all AFCYBER requirements and to synchronize the AFCYBER mission with other key Air Force initiatives.”

The new Air Force leaders continue to make a fresh assessment of all our efforts to provide our nation and the joint force the full spectrum of air, space, and cyberspace capabilities.

On 1 August the Air Force said it was moving forward with naming a new vice commander for the AF Cyberspace Command. Maj. Gen. Randal D. Fullhart will join the command after having served as deputy chief of the Central Security Service for the National Security Agency in Maryland.

Michael Donley, the newly appointed acting secretary of the Air Force, said he was rethinking the Air Force's plans for the command to consider what form it would take "and in what national framework," suggesting, surmised Gannett, the Air Force may play a smaller role in the war in cyber space.

"This is not just Air Force. It has to fit with Strategic Command (and) has to fit with the broader national security community," Donley said. "And we're going to look at making sure that all those pieces fit together as we proceed."

The decision to halt plans for the command is part of an attempt by Donley and Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the new Air Force chief of staff, to reshape the service after a series of damaging scandals.

Donley and Schwartz replaced former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, who were fired in June after a series of mix-ups involving nuclear weapons, including the inadvertent transfer of warheads to Barksdale.

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