U.S. Strategic Command chief closes cyber symposium

  • Published
  • By Scott Knuteson
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFPN) --  "Cyberspace has become integral to the joint fight," said Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, the U.S. Strategic Command commander, after an address to more than 250 attendees July 17, as he closed the week-long conference held here to discuss the Air Force's role in cyberspace.

"We expect all of the services, to include the Air Force, to provide personnel who are trained and who know how to operate systems in cyberspace," the general said. He added that they must know "how to be able to defend (cyberspace), how to be able to support-intelligence operations in cyberspace, and if we're directed, to be able to do offensive operations in cyberspace.

"I applaud the Air Force's attention to this, as well as the other services," General Chilton said. "It's going to take a joint team to do this job."

The general also said Air University, which co-hosted the conference along with U.S. Strategic Command, the 8th Air Force and the provisional Air Force Cyber Command, "has a huge role in the training side."

The combatant command chief focused on the role each servicemember has in cyberspace in every branch.

"Cyberspace is unique in that it cuts across everybody's mission area," he said. "Even if you're flying or fixing airplanes, you'll need to understand the cyber domain as well as you would the air domain. The same is true for (the other branches)."

General Chilton noted that, according to the Unified Command Plan, USSTRATCOM is responsible for "operating and defending the DOD network -- better known as Global Info Grid -- and as directed, conduct offensive operations through cyberspace to achieve effects in support of USSTRATCOM mission areas or other regional combatant commands."

Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap, Jr., Air Force deputy judge advocate general, gave a briefing on the legal dimensions of cyberspace at the symposium.

"I don't think that there is any aspect of modern warfare that will not somehow include the cyberspace realm," General Dunlap said. But, he cautioned, "Simply because something in cyberspace has a national security element, doesn't mean it is in the armed forces area of responsibility."

He also said that the Air Force, "needs to start talking frankly to the world about what we need to do. It isn't always easy to reduce it to a bumper sticker. We have to come up with smart ways of explaining the threat."

The goal of the symposium was to explore the Air Force's involvement in guarding against threats in cyberspace and the Air Force's overall role, but boasted an array of attendees from across the Armed Services and the private sector of the industry.

Mark Clancy, executive vice president of information technology risk for Citi Financial Service, participated in a panel discussion. Afterwards, he discussed in an interview the reason for his involvement in the symposium.

"My role was to represent the financial services' perspective," Mr. Clancy said. "We're a community member of cyberspace, and are very interested in the dialogue and how it progresses, both to see how it affects the nation and how it shapes our own thinking. (The Air Force and Citi) are both large, global organizations with many moving parts, (yet) have very different sets of objectives we're trying to achieve. We all operate in the common medium of cyberspace."

Maj. Gen. William T. Lord, commander of Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional), currently located at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., led the panel discussion. He was also interviewed following the event.

"I think that the formation of (the command) was a stroke of genius by the Air Force secretary and chief of staff to focus Air Force resources and efforts on this problem, quite frankly, because we're so dependent on it," he said. "Our value is in the cross-domain integration of air, space and cyberspace, to create combined effects on the battlefield for the production of sovereign options."

In his speech, General Lord iterated the fact that there may be misperceptions that the Air Force's purpose is to "protect the nation, or protect the Department of Defense." But, he clarified, "All of the services have organizations that do, in some ways, what we do. The creation of (the new command) is about the Air Force focusing resources, energy, direction, money and programs, for the protection of command and control capabilities so that Air Force elements are available for the joint fight."

Lt. Gen. Michael W. Peterson, Air Force chief of warfighting integration and chief information officer, discussed the need for doctrine refinement and a sound organizational structure to address the cyberspace arena. He also related how the Air Force is striving to develop its forces in order to take full advantage of cyberspace capabilities.

"What we're creating is an asymmetric advantage that we've got and we absolutely must keep," he said. "I don't want anyone else who is my adversary to have similar capabilities."

He talked about the problems of a "stovepipe environment," where communication systems are unable to link effectively. To illustrate, he discussed the process and time it takes to go after a time sensitive target with airpower.

"How long does it take us when someone on the ground asks for help or identifies a target? Today, it takes us only a few minutes to bring airpower to bear," he said. "But two-thirds of that time is still manual communication."

Overcoming these and other communication gaps is closer than ever, and is what warfighting integration is all about, he said.

Concerning warfighting integration, some coalition partners were in attendance for the week, including one from the United Kingdom.

Jes Odedra, with the U.K. Ministry of Defence Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, said the conference provided him the opportunity to observe the U.S. Air Force perspectives on cyberspace, and the week allowed attendees "to explore ideas, processes, and effective work principles -- whether it's across different services and agencies at the national level, or allied nations. This is especially important if we are to operate coherently and effectively together."

Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link)

View the comments/letters page