Beyond the Blue Suit

Lt. Gen. Stephen Mueller, vice commander of US Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein AB, Germany, offered advice to airmen transitioning from their cyber support roles to cyber operations. First, they need to understand the technical skills and knowledge necessary to integrate Air Force capabilities operationally. Cyber professionals, he said, must continue to grow their operational expertise. Second, they need to speak plainly in terms of capabilities and effects and toss out confusing acronyms. Open communication is vital to working with operators outside the cyber community. “Cyber is too important to be isolated. We must integrate cyber operations into the overall Air Force operational concept,” said Mueller during a recent Ramstein speech. He added that airmen should also leverage the other services’ capabilities, where possible. “The Air Force has unique service requirements that will keep us blue-suited in many ways, but we cannot afford to do everything on our own,” he said. (Ramstein report by Maj. Sean Kern)