Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional) | |
---|---|
![]() Shield of Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional) | |
Active | In provisional status 2007–2008 Never officially activated as Major Command |
Country | United States of America |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Type | Proposed Major Command |
Role | Administration |
Part of | HQ United States Air Force |
Garrison/HQ | Lackland AFB, Texas |
Nickname(s) | AFCYBER |
Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional) (AFCYBER (P)) was a proposed United States Air Force Major Command that existed only in provisional status. On 6 October 2008, the Air Force announced that the command would not be brought into permanent activation, and that the cyber mission would be transferred, with the standup of the Twenty-Fourth Air Force, to Air Force Space Command. [1]
The development of AFCYBER was announced by the Secretary of the Air Force on 2 November 2006. [2] Originally designated to stand up around Summer 2007, but pushed back to late 2008, AFCYBER was planned to draw upon the personnel resources of the 67th Network Warfare Wing as well as other resources of the Eighth Air Force. It was planned to be placed under the command of Major General William T. Lord. Former Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne summarized the mission of AFCYBER:
The aim was to develop a major command that stands alongside Air Force Space Command and Air Combat Command as the provider of forces that the President, combatant commanders and the American people can rely on for preserving the freedom of access and commerce, in air, space and now cyberspace. [2]
On 14 August 2008, the Air Force made a statement about a pause in standing up the AFCYBER command, which was set for 1 October 2008.
The Air Force remains committed to providing full-spectrum cyber capabilities to include global command and control, electronic warfare and network defense. The Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force have considered delaying currently planned actions on Air Force Cyber Command to allow ample time for a comprehensive assessment of all AFCYBER requirements and to synchronize the AFCYBER mission with other key Air Force initiatives. The new Air Force leaders continue to make a fresh assessment of all our efforts to provide our Nation and the joint force the full spectrum of air, space, and cyberspace capabilities. [3] [4]
On 8 October 2008, the Air Force followed up on its previous findings and decided to place AFCYBER as a Numbered Air Force within Air Force Space Command. On Wednesday, 19 August 2009, the 24th Air Force was stood up, following an environmental impact analysis as required by law. [5] [6]
Leadership also decided to establish a Numbered Air Force for cyber operations within Air Force Space Command and discussed how the Air Force will continue to develop capabilities in this new domain and train personnel to execute this new mission. [1]
This is the final list of Air Force bases that were in competition to host the Cyber Command headquarters, listed alphabetically by state:
On 14 May 2009, the Air Force announced that Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas, "has been selected as headquarters of the 24th Air Force, the Air Force's downgraded version of its provisional Cyber Command."[ citation needed ] However, it was also reported that "continued separate armed services cyber operations exist under a cloud of uncertainty...in light of recent reports that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is considering creation of a multi-service Cyber Command to be based at Fort Meade, Md."[ citation needed ]
TBD
Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of San Antonio. It is the only site for USAF and United States Space Force enlisted Basic Military Training (BMT).
The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and electronic warfare operations. Its headquarters is at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.
The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Command (AFSC).
The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deterrence, global strike, and operating the Defense Department's Global Information Grid. It also provides a host of capabilities to support the other combatant commands, including integrated missile defense; and global command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR). This command exists to give "national leadership a unified resource for greater understanding of specific threats around the world and the means to respond to those threats rapidly".
The Cyberspace Capabilities Center (CCC), located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the primary organization that develops cyber domain requirements in the United States Air Force.
The 67th Cyberspace Operations Group is a unit of the 67th Cyberspace Wing. Headquartered on Kelly Field Annex's Security Hill, the group is an Air Force information operations unit.
The United States Air Force's 688th Cyberspace Wing is a cyberspace operations unit located at Joint Base San Antonio (Lackland), Texas.
Twenty-Fourth Air Force / Air Forces Cyber (AFCYBER) was a Numbered Air Force within the United States Air Force. The Air Force consolidated its cyberspace combat and support forces into 24 AF. 24 AF was the Air Force component of U.S. Cyber Command.
United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integrates and bolsters DoD's cyber expertise which focus on securing cyberspace.
The 567th Cyberspace Operations Group is a United States Air Force organization at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, assigned to the 67th Cyberspace Wing. It was activated in June 2018.
Richard E. Webber is a retired United States Air Force major general. He was the first commander of the Twenty-Fourth Air Force, which was focused on cyberspace operations. The Twenty-Fourth Air Force was located in San Antonio, Texas, and was stood up in place of the originally proposed larger Major Command organization, Air Force Cyber Command. Webber graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1975 and has worked in the space and missile career field.
The 318th Cyberspace Operations Group is a United States Air Force information operations unit located at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The group was first activated during World War II as the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. After training in the United States, the unit moved to the China-Burma-India Theater and engaged in hostilities until the end of the war. It returned to the United States in November 1945, and was inactivated at the port of embarkation.
The United States Air Force's 26th Cyberspace Operations Group is a network operations unit located at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The group was commanded by Colonel Randy Witt in 2023.
The U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command is a functional formation of the United States Marine Corps to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattack. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command is the Marine Corps component to U.S. Cyber Command. It comprises a command element, the Marine Corps Cyber Operations Group, and the Marine Corps Cyber Warfare Group, a total of approximately 800 personnel. MARFORCYBER was established on January 21, 2010 under the command of LtGen George J. Flynn,. As of 7 July 2021, MajGen Ryan P. Heritage is in command.
Twenty-Fifth Air Force, also known as Air Force Intelligence, was a numbered air force (NAF) within the United States Air Force (USAF), and served as the Air Force's premier military intelligence organization. 25 AF was established on 29 September 2014 by redesignating the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency under Headquarters, United States Air Force, to a numbered air force aligned under Air Combat Command. The USAF also realigned the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and the 55th Wing under the new NAF. It was headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
The 67th Cyberspace Wing is a United States Air Force wing stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. It was activated in October 1993 as a military intelligence unit and is assigned to the Sixteenth Air Force.
Burke Edwin Wilson is a retired United States Air Force two-star general who served as Commander, 24th Air Force at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas from 2014 to 2016.
Space Operations Command (SpOC) is the United States Space Force's space operations, cyber operations, and intelligence field command. Headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, it consists of its mission deltas, and garrison commands.
Gregory J. Gagnon is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the deputy chief of space operations for intelligence. He previously served as the director of intelligence of the United States Space Command. A career intelligence officer, he is the first general officer in the Space Force from a non-space professional career field.
Zachary Shay Warakomski is a United States Space Force colonel who served as the commander of Space Base Delta 1. He now serves as the senior cyber officer of the Space Force. In 2024, he was nominated for promotion to brigadier general.