Just like the Navy must protect sea lanes for waterborne commerce, a military cyber organization must protect commerce that travels through Cyber Space, according to Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, head of 8th Air Force. Elder, who oversaw the efforts to start up the recently activated Cyber Command, noted that 80 percent of world commerce today is conducted in cyberspace. He emphasized that “cyber is a domain,” a place with terrain, obstacles, and innocent bystanders as well as enemies. The Air Force has to dominate cyber space, he said, because “if we lose cyber, we can’t do air and space.”
The Pentagon released its new National Defense Strategy late Jan. 23, emphasizing a new commitment to the Western Hemisphere. But while that focus garnered most of the headlines, the strategy’s subtle shifts on China raise questions about how the Trump administration aims to leverage U.S. military power in the Indo-Pacific.
