Cyber Wings

[Guest]

Anyone seen these yet? I saw a couple comm Nazis wearing them on Blues Monday.

New Air Force cyberspace badge guidelines released

Posted 4/27/2010 Email story Print story

4/27/2010 - PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz has approved the new cyberspace badge and associated wear criteria.

In his Apr. 21 memorandum, General Schwartz set forth guidelines and addressed standard eligibility requirements for officers working in the cyberspace domain. Eligibility criteria for enlisted personnel are slated for release in a future message.

Maj. Gen. Michael Basla, Air Force Space Command vice commander, who will wear the new badge, highlighted its significance.

"The Air Force mission -- to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace -- acknowledges the significance and interrelationship of our three operational domains in effective warfighting. The establishment of the Air Force cyberspace badge underscores the crucial operational nature of the cyberspace mission," General Basla said.

Lt. Gen. William T. Lord, the Air Force's chief of warfighting integration and chief information officer said the new badge reflects the importance of cyber operations.

"The Air Force's cyberspace operators must focus on operational rigor and mission assurance in order to effectively establish, control and leverage cyberspace capabilities," he said. "The new cyberspace operator badge identifies our cyberspace professionals with the requisite education, training and experience to operate in this new critical domain. The badge symbolizes this new operational mindset and the Air Force's commitment to operationalize the cyberspace domain."

The new badge is authorized in three levels: basic, senior and master. Badge level eligibility criteria are consistent with those listed in Air Force Instruction 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel. The guidance for the cyberspace badge will be included in the next revision of the AFI.

Certain officers are "grandfathered" and eligible to wear the new badge. Officers converting from the 33S to the 17D Air Force Specialty Code on April 30 are authorized the basic cyberspace badge. Officers may continue to wear the communications and information badge at the authorized level until Oct. 1, 2011.

Upon completing the Distance Learning Cyberspace Operations Transition Course -- the "X- course," Undergraduate Network Warfare Training or meeting criteria for upgrade, officers who earned the senior or master level communications and information badge are authorized to wear that same level of the cyberspace badge.

Officers from other AFSCs who have completed the X-course and have at least one year of cyberspace experience since Jan. 1, 2006, also are eligible to wear the cyberspace badge. The 17D career field manager is coordinating with Air Force Space Command's Space and Cyberspace Professional Management Office to identify eligible officers.

Beyond the grandfathering period, standard eligibility criteria will apply and officers will be identified in orders published by the commander of Air Force Space Command, who is responsible for cyberspace force development.

The AFSPC commander, in conjunction with the Air Staff functional authorities responsible for cyberspace-related specialties, will regularly approve authorization orders listing additional officers who have earned the badge.

The design element of the badge holds significant meaning. The lightning bolt wings signify the cyberspace domain while the globe signifies the projection of cyber power world-wide. The globe, combined with lightning bolt wings, signifies the Air Force's common communications heritage. The bolted wings, centered on the globe, are a design element from the Air Force seal signifying the striking power through air, space and cyberspace. The orbits signify the space dimension of the cyberspace domain.

The new badge is equal in precedence to the aeronautical and space badges. Those awarded multiples of the cyberspace, aeronautical and space badges must wear the cyberspace badge above the others while serving in a cyberspace billet.

[ExBoneOSO]

Anyone seen these yet? I saw a couple comm Nazis wearing them on Blues Monday.

I don't understand the "equal precedence" with rated badges...I'd be damned if I'd wear the comm badge above my nav wings.....

[aeroplanez]

[Guest]

Wings or not, they can do some cool shit.

I am thinking there's a fat paycheck waiting for these geeks when they're done in the USAF.

[Napoleon_Tanerite]

what do you bet these guys get as butthurt about being called "comm guys" as ABMs get about getting called "air traffic control"?

[SurelySerious]

what do you bet these guys get as butthurt about being called "comm guys" as ABMs get about getting called "air traffic control"?

Whatever, they're all penguins.

[M2]

Whatever, they're all penguins.

Careful with the penguin comments!

[snoopyeast]

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[lj35driver]

Saw a guy in the chowhall the other day wearing those and Spings on his ABUs. Wondered what they were.

[KennyB]

Honestly who gives a shit about what badges we wear in the AF? Do your pilot wings make you man? Are you offended when you see a missile dude wearing a flight suit and having a checkride?

I guess I don't define myself by my airplane or my pilot wings. Are my pilot wings less shiny because the comm geeks now have wings?

I don't care if everyone in the AF wears a flightsuit, at least then we wouldn't be wearing goofy digital ABUs.

[brickhistory]

what do you bet these guys get as butthurt about being called "comm guys" as ABMs get about getting called "air traffic control"?

In twenty plus years, I missed that one. Except by some clueless member of the media, air traffic control was never mentioned when describing or referring to weapons controllers/ABMs.

Well done.

[jcollins]

We don't care. We could care less about wings. We only care about what we bring to the fight and if you want to know what that is then get on the SIPR.

[MTW]

All I can think of is buzz lightyear whenever I see the new cyber wings. Here is a contest for those of you who are more artistic than myself.

https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/design-the-air-forces-cyberwarrior-badge-cause-the-real-one-sucks/

[brickhistory]

Jumping off the mocking train for a second, anyone detecting the growing trend in Big Blue never mind the rest of the DoD?

MQ1/9/MQ-X/RQ-4/Cyber Command, etc, etc.

Clock's ticking...

[lj35driver]

Honestly who gives a shit about what badges we wear in the AF? Do your pilot wings make you man? Are you offended when you see a missile dude wearing a flight suit and having a checkride?

I guess I don't define myself by my airplane or my pilot wings. Are my pilot wings less shiny because the comm geeks now have wings?

I don't care if everyone in the AF wears a flightsuit, at least then we wouldn't be wearing goofy digital ABUs.

I'll agree with you on the ABU portion, but not be being offended when non-flying AFSC badges look like some sort of wings...YGTBFSM! No, a set wings doesn't make me a man or define who I am, but it's a huge part of our heritage as a flying community. You know, heritage, that thing that some of our senior leaders and especially the uniform boards trample all over in their efforts to create our "unique identity."

IMNSHO, it does sully the meaning of our wings and the pain we all go through to get them. Wings are the singular symbol pilots/navs/aircrew across all services worldwide wear. That symbol says that we're in the business of operating complicated pieces of iron whether that be sitting up front tugging on the yoke, flying the boom, or operating a multitude of systems in the back. I think it speaks volumes as to what a set of USAF pilot wings mean when I've met foreign grads of USAF pilot training who chose to wear them instead of those of their own nation. Now we're going to take that symbol and also say it represents flying trons through air and fiber optic cables while sitting at a desk. Absolutely not, it means we crew and fly aircraft. So yeah, thanks Mr AFSC Badge Designer for chipping away a little more from what it means to bust your ass to get a legitimate set of wings.

I'll caveat my little rant by saying that those guys do bring a sh!t ton of capability to the fight that makes our jobs easier. They're an essential part of the toolkit wherever we go, just don't like the badge.

[Karl Hungus]

Jumping off the mocking train for a second, anyone detecting the growing trend in Big Blue never mind the rest of the DoD?

MQ1/9/MQ-X/RQ-4/Cyber Command, etc, etc.

Clock's ticking...

Seek validation much?

As for the wings... it's sorta like calling yourself a doctor when you went to a podiatry or osteopathy school. Yeah, sure, you're a "doctor", but you're not an M.D.

I appreciate the role that most AFSCs bring to the fight. Doesn't mean everyone needs wings.

[Gravedigger]

As gay as this is, it is not something that is being pushed for at the "operator" level. Trust me, I can't stand the fact that space operators wear leather jackets, scarves, and the same flightsuits as aircrew. There are a lot of other folks that share my opinion. However, it is not something we asked for, it is something a General (and pilot) pushed to show how forward of a thinker he was.

Seriously, it's like we are the community college kids who are the state school's biggest fans. Always trying to copy and gain acceptance from our cooler peers. It's freaking gay.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to disagree with these fake wings, and everything else, but you need to blame the decision makers, and not label the folks that do what they're told. Back when we had blue flightsuits, we were nerds, but at least we weren't nerds trying to be fliers.

Cyber and Space have some cool shit going on, and there's a lot to be proud of in doing this job. The last thing we need is to try to copy the flying world and look like a bunch of wannabe pukes that worship pilots. Nobody wants that.

In conclusion, cyber and space are very much part of today's fight, but we should have our own identity and let the aircrew keep their heritage and traditions in tact.

[HerkDerka]

We don't care. We could care less about wings. We only care about what we bring to the fight and if you want to know what that is then get on the SIPR.

[afnav]

It is true, the cyber guys are doing some good stuff...

...but they need to remember they are one EMP away from irrelevance.

[zach braff]

I wondered how long it would take for this topic to start.

I along with a couple thousand comm guys became a 17D Cyber Operator on 1 May... Fought the wings as best I could; but it is what it is and I'm sporting them now. No problems here if you keep calling us comm guys. I joined up to be a comm guy, not a cyber guy. Personally, I like airplanes and being closer to that mission, which I've been lucky to be so far in my short career. I actually know very little about the "base" network world. I've done more tactical, deployed & comm-maintenance type stuff... There's actually quite a bit to this comm field.

That said, it is a whole new world in that cyber domain, much of which I don't even have the clearance to know about. What little I do know is that they do some serious business that could very well win future battles without a shot fired or American life lost - and I'm 100% good with that. Is every comm guy a real "operator" now? Nope - but like someone above me said, somebody made the call for the new AFSC and wings... I signed on the line so I'll roll with it.

I'll miss my Freddy Krueger badge, but in the end I'll keep doing what I do to keep the mission moving, regardless of what device I wear.

zb

[zmoney]

We don't care. We could care less about wings. We only care about what we bring to the fight and if you want to know what that is then get on the SIPR.

They bring us the most mismanaged, cumbersome, and uninnovative network in the entire world?

I don't give a shit about wings... I don't give a shit about any info that might be on SIPR. I just know the following:

1. Air Force e-mail sucks. It is slow. A 75MB size limit is absolutely ######ing absurd. Solution: GMAIL (or contract google to design one for us). If you want a better, DOD-ified solution, see AKOs new e-mail.

2. Air Force portal sucks. It is slow and contains NO ######ING INFORMATION. Wait? It does contain information you say? Then why does the search suck?! How could it possibly take anyone more than FIVE MINUTES to find a telephone directory. What about a base map? PFPS? I can go on. It ######ing sucks. Solution: Connect a google search appliance to that bitch.

3. DOD to DOD traffic is slow. ######, intranet traffic that remains on my base is ######ing slow. They just rewired the entire building for CAT-6 and gave us machines with gigabit ethernet cards. Network traffic that stays in the confines of my base SHOULD NOT BE SLOW! Not when its 1000-Base-T. Solution: I don't know what the ###### is wrong with it...

4. Air Force computer support sucks. Try this shit on for size. AETC buys computers and they get sent to my base. Then, the COMM dudes open the computers and install the AF common desktop on them. Then the COMM dudes tell our ADPEs to pick those computers up and install them in the squadron. Here's the problem with that: The dudes SUPPORTING the systems SHOULD be on the ones installing the systems. A 11K3 (Instructor Pilot) who HAPPENS to know about computers should NOT be the one installing that computer! They haven't received ANY formal training about how to install or support that computer. Furthermore, they aren't even given any admin rights to help support it if they wanted to.

JCollins, I know you probably work hard and the bureaucracy sucks, but there is no excuse for the air force to be running a network like this. NONE! We may not be a corporate entity, but there is no reason our network cannot behave like one (fast, well-organized, and secure). The Air Force's focus should be on correcting deficiencies in our network, not offensive "cyber" capabilities or opening up social networking sites. Once our network is where it should be (as good as Google's, Apple's, or Microsoft's), then we can start working on our offensive "cyber" capabilities.

[Soon To Be E6B]

Even more great ideas

Flight suits, ABUs, patches: What do you think?

Staff report

Posted : Monday May 3, 2010 16:17:19 EDT

The Air Force lets airmen wear patches on flight suits, but not on ABUs.

Is the ban on ABU patches fair? Should wearers of the flight suit have to get rid of their patches, too? Or should the Air Force simply give the OK for patches, regardless of the uniform?

If the Air Force lifted the ban on ABU patches, which ones should be allowed? The Ranger tab? Unit morale patches?

Maybe you like the patch-less look because you don’t have to change patches each time you change assignments.

Whatever you think about patches and wear rules, we want to hear from you.

Send your comments to brolfsen@airforcetimes.com. Please include your name, rank, career field and base. We might include your remarks in an upcoming story.

[Right Seat Driver]

This will probably not be a popular post but here it goes. My wife is a Comm Officer who hates the base network probably more than we do. She also, along with a lot of other 33S types I am friends with hate the network, hate the software, get infuriated with the 45-75MB e-mail limit, CAC certificates, Office .pst files that stop working or get deleted, and feel that the AF can do a much better job, and above all, they all hate the Comm Focal Point. It is frustrating to try and do all of your mission planning only to be locked out of the network and then get the run around from the Comm Focal Point. Now, imagine being a Comm bubba and not getting any help from the Comm Focal Point. It happens.

The problem with the AF is they approve all of this software to run on the machines/network but they don't test to see that all of this software is compatible with one another. There has been a ton of money lost on contracts for comm support, software, etc because of this "oversight."

In regards to the Cyber Wings, well, I am not a fan. And like Zach Braff wrote, this wasn't a popular topic for the 33S as well. While there are 33S that wish they were operators like any other non-rated types, the majority of the 33S I know are fighting to stay 33S and avoid getting sucked into the 17D fold. I guess in the end it doesn't matter anyway. People way over their pay-grades made the decision, and 99% of my non-rated bros are pulling the handle the first chance they get anyway.

[skibum]

"It is true, the cyber guys are doing some good stuff..."

WTF? Have all you guys grown vaginas or something? AF Comm is the biggest bunch of shoeclerk tools currently suckling at the government teet. They treat every threat with the same tactic -- shut-r-down. Memory stick threat...quit using them. Bluetooth threat...shut off the capability. Imagine if we all ran for cover the way comm does. Threat off the end of RWY 12 at Balad...close the runway forever.

[08Dawg]

At least we're not the only ones having to deal with something like this.

Looks like the squids are at it, too.