USAF Cyberspace wing

[Bluehawk]

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.

[pfrost]

I still like my design better.

:thumbsup:

[Bluehawk]

^ That's the UAV one!

 

Why there needs to be a wing for cyber officers is, to me, a total mystery. I guess flying a desk has finally come into its own, no offense intended to pooter geeks.

 

USAF is on the verge of unveiling (for the umpteenth time) a whole new organization of our AFSCs, so I guess this will go along with it.

[pfrost]

^ That's the UAV one!

 

Why there needs to be a wing for cyber officers is, to me, a total mystery. I guess flying a desk has finally come into its own, no offense intended to pooter geeks.

 

USAF is on the verge of unveiling (for the umpteenth time) a whole new organization of our AFSCs, so I guess this will go along with it.

 

Cyber warriors? How about this one?

[Teamski]

Yeah, that wing looks downright ugly. Why is it even a wing?

 

-Ski

[Lee Ragan]

Yeah, that wing looks downright ugly. Why is it even a wing?

 

-Ski

 

I agree Ski. They could have just made another speciality badge similar to the others with the upswept wreaths. This thing looks like it came out of a box of cereal. "Space Cadets.... man your keyboards!" :w00t:

[Bluehawk]

I agree Ski. They could have just made another speciality badge similar to the others with the upswept wreaths. This thing looks like it came out of a box of cereal. "Space Cadets.... man your keyboards!" :w00t:

They're already talking about when and how to phase out those existing occupational badges, but ONLY for officers. Enlisted slime will still wear them.

 

So, maybe herein resides the rationale for a wing? Officers who cannot or do not fly felt left out of the wing glitter.

[Bluehawk]

Cyber warriors? How about this one?

Frost, dang it, you did it again! :w00t:

 

By the wayyyyyyyyyyyy, frost, Are you aware that if someone Googles for photos of USAF wings, one of the examples they will find is your version of the UAV variant?

 

You realize of course, now there is gonna also be your version of the Cyber wing out there, and somebody somewhere is gonna think it's official.

 

WELL DONE!

[pfrost]

Frost, dang it, you did it again! :w00t:

 

By the wayyyyyyyyyyyy, frost, Are you aware that if someone Googles for photos of USAF wings, one of the examples they will find is your version of the UAV variant?

 

You realize of course, now there is gonna also be your version of the Cyber wing out there, and somebody somewhere is gonna think it's official.

 

WELL DONE!

 

Its good to see my work will outlast me.

 

As long as that is the only thing that comes up when they google my name! Perhaps the next generation of USMILITARIAFORUM page will have a pinned thread "Patrick Frost-designed wings, things of beauty conceived by a genius or POS time wasters?". :think:

 

Hopefully that will be the one thread on the wings subforum that the moderators have to keep cleaning up due to off topic posts, personal attacks and bad behavior....