Air Force Cyberspace Symposium Now a Reality

Published Nov. 29, 2007
By Capt. Robert Krause
Eighth Air Force Public Affairs

Barksdale AFB, La. -- More than 1,700 cyber enthusiasts packed the Shreveport Civic Center yesterday for the first Air Force Cyberspace Symposium. The event was hosted by the Louisiana Cyber Innovation Center and cohosted by Headquarters Eighth Air Force, Air Force Electronic Systems Center, Air Force Cyber Command (provisional) and the Ark-LA-Tex Chapter of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association.
Among the larger than expected crowd were executives from across the Information Technology industry, defense contractors and a collection of Airmen tasked with protecting and operating within the cyber domain.
"You can tell by the huge turn-out here that cyberspace is on the minds of people in and out side of the Air Force," said Lt. Gen Robert Elder, Headquarters 8th Air Force commander. "Protecting, defending and operating in cyberspace is important business not just for the Air Force and DoD but for anyone who accesses the domain.
"The amount of information now stored and the number (and variety) of transactions that occur across cyberspace is staggering. From that perspective, you can see why dominance in cyberspace is an imperative capability needed by the warfighter."
The three day event included presentations from Senator Mary Landrieu, The honorable Lauri Almann, permanent Under-Secretary, Estonia Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. William T. Lord, AFCYBER (P) commander.
"The local community has done a great job of jump-starting the cyber initiative," said Gen. Lord. "Cyber command is as important to the local area as it is to the warfighter because the domain crosses all levels."
Recently, Gen. Lord has been given the responsibility to stand-up the Air Force's newest major command.
"In reality, the AFCYBER MAJCOM staff is as big as me," Gen. Lord said, noting that he fills the only authorized position for the fledgling command.
The timeline for the command is to be initial operations capable by Oct.1, 2008 and full operations capable by Oct. 1, 2009.
Currently, there are 160 people between various units helping to build cyber command, and nearly 20 - 30 thousand people doing cyber operations world-wide. The headquarters will consist of around 540 people who will be stationed at a base to be named in February.
A key goal of the symposium is to foster collaboration, research and technology development in the cyberspace industry.
"When you start operating in a virtual world, it takes a lot of imagination," said Gen. Elder. "We need to have people thinking conceptually because we're progressing so quickly in these new areas.
"Collaboration between academia and technology is key to our success," the general added. This symposium and the Cyber Innovation Center is just one way we will advance our position in the domain."