Cyber Stasis?

By Sebastian Sprenger / March 5, 2009 at 5:00 AM

Development of the Air Force's first-ever cyberspace doctrine appears to have hit a snag, and officials are mum about the cause of the hold-up. As we reported last October, officials crafted and circulated a draft version of the document over the summer. At the time, a service spokesman said the Air Force doctrine folks were trying to get the document wrapped up and approved by November.

A spokesman at Air University's Center for Doctrine Development and Education confirmed this week work on the cyber doctrine is still ongoing. He did not return a phone call requesting more information.

Experts said the delay could be due to still-unresolved fundamental questions over what it means for the service to fight in cyberspace.

(Work on a revision of another key, and related, Air Force doctrine piece, "information operations," also appears to be going slow, we're told.)

A senior general last week suggested the military as whole should move a tad bit more quickly on all things cyberspace, Inside the Air Force reported.

"My message for the cyberspace domain is it’s time we generate momentum in this particular area,” U.S. Strategic Command chief Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton said during a Feb. 26 speech at an Air Force Association-sponsored conference in Florida. “We are under ((cyber)) attack, we are behind, we are reactive, not proactive, and we -- all of us -- are making it too easy for those who would exploit and attack our networks.”

Meanwhile, Inside the Pentagon today reports about new push from the Joint Staff to get the personnel requirements for cyberspace operations figured out by late spring.

53726