Brave New World

The Air Force’s fledgling cyber force has developed a roadmap that proposes establishing new career fields for officer and enlisted airmen that would affect some 30,000 active and 2,000 reserve personnel currently working in the cyber realm. The head of Cyber Command (Provisional), Maj. Gen. William Lord, said the new roadmap “outlines our efforts to establish cyberspace operators, specialists, analysts, and developers who grow from a basic understanding of cyberspace doctrine to experts in their respective fields.” Per the plan, operators would comprise officer and enlisted airmen who would plan, direct, and execute offensive and defensive actions; specialists would be enlisted communications and information cyber technicians; analysts would include both officer and enlisted intelligence personnel with expertise in cyberspace operations; and developers would also comprise both officers and enlisted members with advanced skills in designing and modifying software and hardware. AFCYBER’s initial work focuses on operators and specialists, including two new officer air force specialty codes and 15 new enlisted AFSCs. Work is still ongoing to outline career paths for analysts and developers, expected later this year, and to define professional development for the service’s civilian cyber force. “We have a lot of work ahead of us still, but we know the direction we’re headed,” said Maj. Timothy Franz, AFCYBER chief of force development. In the works, too, is a proposed cyberspace operator badge. Officials last month noted that the command is on track to stand up this fall, while still looking for a permanent location for the headquarters. (For details on the specific AFSCs being cut and created, see AFCYBER report by Karen Petitt.)