LeMay Center hosts first cyberspace ops executive course Published April 30, 2009 By Capt. Jennifer Lovett LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- In the last six months, the DoD spent more than $100 million on manpower, time, contractors, technology and procedures reacting to cyber-security problems. To better understand the cyberspace domain and how to fly, fight and win in it, the Air Force chief of staff approved the Cyberspace Operations Executive Course for senior leaders that was held April 23 and 24 at Maxwell's LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education. "This first-ever Cyberspace Operations Executive Course was designed to provide senior leadership a better understanding of technologies, policies and operations being implemented to defend and operate in the cyber domain," said Lt. Gen. Allen Peck, Air University commander and class attendee. The DoD's Global Information Grid, or GiG, consists of 15,000 networks and approximately 7 million IT devices. There are millions of scans of the GiG per day to deter malicious activity and intrusions on military and national infrastructure information systems and networks that are threats to national security. "While air, land and sea are natural domains, cyberspace is a man-made domain--one that the military must operate in and through. This course was designed so that the senior leaders could have a better understanding of the possible adversaries and threats inherent in this new and evolving domain," said Lt. Col. Ira Collier, LeMay Center Flag Officer Division chief who designed the course with the help of Rome Laboratories. "So much of what we do, whether flying, communicating or analyzing and disseminating intelligence, is reliant upon cyberspace. We brought in numerous subject matter experts and a senior mentor to help the attendees break down issues that affect the domain." Retired Gen. Mike Hayden, former director of the NSA and CIA, was the senior mentor for the mainly three- and four-star generals and civilian equivalents in attendance. "The glue that held (the course) all together was our mentor, Gen (ret) Mike Hayden--it was largely due to his keen insights, analyses, hard-hitting anecdotes and high-level perspective that this course proved to be a tremendously productive use of time for all involved," said General Peck. It can cost approximately $5,000 to $7,000 per compromised machine to take if off-line, perform forensics and reinstall it on the network. "Cyberspace is a very real domain in which DoD must work and fight," said General Hayden. "It is constantly changing, shifting, upgrading, and remolding itself, and we must keep up. We have adversaries who possess significant capabilities to operate in cyberspace, and we must ensure their competence doesn't present an asymmetric threat that holds at risk our ability to operate in air, space and cyberspace. "This course demonstrates the importance that the Air Force has placed on the cyberspace domain. It has given the attendees a greater understanding of cyberspace, and as a result I'm convinced these senior leaders can be more effective advocates who can influence Air Force culture, conduct, and capabilities that affect this mission. I'm pleased to have been asked to serve as the mentor for the inaugural version of this course, appropriately conducted at the Air Force's Intellectual and Leadership Center."