Engendering Cyber-mindedness in the USAF Cyber Officer Corps

<p>The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly fight and win...in air space and cyberspace. The Air Force is the first military service in the Department of Defense to include the cyberspace operating domain as part of its mission. The Air Force has undergone notable changes to incorporate this new domain of operations to include establishing a cyberspace numbered air force and creating a cyberspace career field. The Air Force converted all of its Communications and Information Officers into Cyberspace Operations Officers in April 2010. The Air Force however has not completed an in-depth analysis of what skills the officers in this new career field will need in order to face future cyberspace challenges. This new career field is an amalgamation of officers with different educational backgrounds and operational experiences. The essence of any organization is the culture among its members. An accepted definition of organizational culture is a shared set of beliefs among members of a group that establishes acceptable behavior by individuals within the group. When the Air Force recognized cyberspace as an independent operating domain it became important for the service to foster a cyber-minded culture. This research offers a better understanding of and recommendations for shaping a cohesive operationally-oriented and mature cyber-minded culture which the Air Force desires for its new operating domain. To accomplish this goal this research explores three context-specific cultural variables with regard to their influence on certain career fields in the Air Force's operating domains. Those variables are advocacy and mentorship education and formal training and divergence of career paths. Each of the variables plays a role in fostering cohesion operational orientation and maturity of domain-minded cultures. A study of the air- and space-minded cultures with a careful focus on their maturation from their birth and early growth stages to organizational mi</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>