The Air Force announced with great fanfare earlier this year that it was elevating the mission of cyber-warfare to an all-important status, and designated the 8th Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., as the home of the new Cyberspace Command.
There is now speculation that the service is struggling with how to bring these grand plans to fruition. A major hurdle is how to take on this mission without duplicating what U.S. Strategic Command already is doing. Within Stratcom, one source said, “They don’t see the Air Force taking charge of this.”
A three-star Air Force general recently told industry executives that the service has yet to figure out what it wants to accomplish. “We know where we are going, but I’m not sure we know the final destination.”