[ISN] 39th IOS Lays Foundation for Operations Course

From: InfoSec News (alerts@private)
Date: Tue Oct 03 2006 - 23:17:37 PDT


http://community.emeraldcoast.com/military/news/article.showarticle.db.php?a=5709

By 1st Lt. Heather Alden
39th IOS
10/3/2006

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- The Air Force cyberspace tiger team, established 
by the Air Force cyberspace task force, and the 39th Information 
Operations Squadron have set the groundwork for the Air Force's first 
network warfare operations curriculum.

The cyberspace task force was established by the air staff to help 
define cyberspace and the Air Force's role in it after the chief of 
staff updated the service's mission statement to include cyberspace in 
December.

Col. Gregory Rattray has led this effort based on his extensive 
experience with national and Department of Defense cyber security 
activities and his position as the commander of the 318th Information 
Operations Group, which is often referred to as the operational arm of 
the Air Force Information Warfare Center.

Colonel Rattray established the cyberspace tiger team to push forward 
with several cyberspace initiatives.

One of the Air Force's major initiatives is to establish and administer 
a basic, initial qualification Network Warfare Operations course by June 
2007.

"The goal of the course will be to develop the best of the best into 
network warfare experts for network operations," said Maj. Kiley Weigle, 
leader of the NWO school effort. "Currently, the Air Force does a great 
job of producing operators who can install and maintain our networks.

However, there is no formal training program out there to teach our 
Airmen how to actively defend or attack a network."

The AFIWC hosted a conference in June with 32 subject matter experts 
representing various network warfare-related communities and from across 
the globe to develop the task training list and set the foundation for a 
progression of NWO courses. The basic, initial qualification course is 
predicted to be eight to ten weeks long and will accommodate 25 students 
per class.

It will be taught at the Air Force's information operations schoolhouse, 
the 39th IOS.

The proposed framework for developing a comprehensive NWO operator and 
planner divides the training into six topic areas: introduction to 
policy, doctrine and guidance; NWO organizations and missions; NWO 
fundamental concepts; NWO networks; NWO Employment; and NWO strategic 
planning and integration.

Tasks outlined for each topic area were further divided into three 
levels of learning: prerequisite knowledge, initial qualification 
training and an advanced planner's course.

Potential students will be required to pass an entry exam to begin their 
IQT in the basic NWO course. The planner's portion will be a separate, 
follow-on course.

The target audience for the basic IQT course includes Airmen in 
communications, engineering and intelligence career fields.

This course is the first step toward formal development of what have 
been called "digital green berets."

"We must develop a force of trained, proficient operators to ensure the 
Air Force can dominate cyberspace," said Colonel Rattray. "The new NWO 
basic course will be a cornerstone of our force development efforts."

Copyright 2006 Freedom Interactive Newspapers of Florida, Inc. 
All Rights Reserved.


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