Orlando, Feb. 18, 2010—Air Force Space Command has “pretty well solidified” its plan of action for developing USAF’s cadre of cyber professionals, said Gen. Robert Kehler, the command’s boss. That plan is an outgrowth of the template AFSPC crafted for the development of space professionals following the Rumsfeld Space Commission report to Congress back in 2001. “We intend to follow exactly the same course,” he said. Out of this will emerge cyber warriors with the “education, training, experience, and certification” to perform this vital mission, added Kehler, noting that the first undergraduate cyber training course will begin this June at Keelser AFB, Miss. He later told reporters that the class would include about 15 to 20 individuals of various academic backgrounds, but the vast of majority of them will be technical specialists in some field. (AFSPC took cyber operations under its umbrella last summer with activation of its 24th Air Force.)
When the Air Force sets a new program baseline for the B-52 re-engining this fall, there will be “some” cost increase, because the project wasn't previously fully funded, and the Air Force has a better handle on actual supplier costs and knowledge from ground testing, program officials said.