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Show Hilltop HILLTOP TIMES TIMES July 3, 2013 AFSC Goals Series No. 1: Focusing on nuclear mission BY BRANDICE J. O'BRIEN Tinker Take Off staff writer T INKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. — Air Force Sustainment Center personnel are on a mission to make the center more integrated, innovative and efficient for the future. But, it's not a simple task. To achieve the end result, personnel are working a strategic plan with five goals and 18 objectives. The first goal is "Continue to strengthen sustainment processes and accountability for the nuclear enterprise." With it are two objectives: "100 percent positive inventory control of AFSC nuclear weapons-related material," and "Nuclear-related intercontinental ballistic missile maintenance tasks be completed on-time, on-cost with no quality or safety issues, 100 percent of the time by Oct. 1, 2015." "The nuclear theme is clearly an area of significance across Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force Headquarters," said United Kingdom Royal Air Force Wing Commander Jonathan Durke at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Assigned to the Logistics Directorate, he is working with the strategic planning team on the development, maturation and socialization of the AFSC Goals and Objectives. "This is very much about how supply chain and depot maintenance activities collectively support the nuclear environment." Unlike most of the other goals, Durke said only a portion of the AFSC personnel can work the nuclear enterprise plan. But, those folks understand the ins and outs of the nuclear program and its issues. The commander said as with the other goals, the nuclear piece involves the supply chain and depot maintenance elements, with specific objec- tives determined for each business area. The 635th Supply Chain Operations Wing leads the first objective and Maj. Gen. H. Brent Baker Sr., Ogden Air Logistic Complex commander, oversees the second objective. "On the supply chain side it was very straightforward. Let's make sure with any nuclear weapons-related material we know what assets the AFSC is responsible for, their condition, location and serial number in real time," Durke said. "Right now we have a number of potential discrepancies and the assigned team for this objective is working hard to resolve these." Commander Durke said the maintenance piece was driven around Hill Air Force Base and the installation's ability to support certain components. Gen. Baker knew there were issues resulting in an unsatisfactory level of service, compromising the AFSC's vision to be effective and efficient. To eliminate them, he proposed the need for strategic focus to be applied to certain maintenance issues. The plan specifically addresses time, cost, quality and safety and, while this is in direct support to the AFSC commander's Leadership Model, it also presents new challenges, especially with regard to cost management. "Are these objectives resilient in the longer term?" Durke asked. "Maybe not; maybe they are best suited for a short-term plan. But, nevertheless they were seen as the big rocks for the nuclear part of the AFSC's business." The nuclear piece with its objectives is challenging, but achievable the Durke said. In the upcoming weeks, the Hilltop Times will publish a series of four more stories introducing the other goals and their counterpart objectives. Department of Defense must stay ahead of cyber threat, Dempsey says 47 n4 wil IP% I 10 71 Pi 0 • 2 %. • w411?.." • i 4 111 w _ft ar . - X” ,. - . . . . • r.#114 ' ,,. - ri • . t..: .,.. ,. . , .. .. ..- to, . .. _ ,. •. „. . . . . • . , .„. . .:, :: ....... ,„ * .. .. - - CYBER I page 5 we 11 1. a1. See 4, Ipv PIO e Pia1 4 will el 1 4 1111 , 1111 1 . 1m 1"..""1 " 1 , . .. ,, 2 ; • . . . „ . .... • ,,. ..„ 03, . .. Zi p Aifr. they execute militarily our missions around the globe," Dempsey said. IC c W2 tive and destructive cyberattacks are becoming a part of conflict between states, within states, and among nonstate actors. The borderless nature of cyberspace means anyone, anywhere in the world, can use cyber to affect someone else." It isn't enough to just strengthen cyber defenses on military systems, the chairman said. Intrusion attempts on critical civilian infrastructure systems have increased 17-fold over the last two years, he said. "The gap between cyber defenses deployed across critical infrastructure and offensive tools we now know exist presents a significant vulnerability for our nation," Dempsey said. In response to the threat, the Defense Department is growing its capacity to protect its own networks, and it's adding a new mission: defending the nation, when asked, from attacks of significant consequence — those that threaten life, limb and the country's core critical infrastructure, the chairman said. Over the next four years, 4,000 cyber operators will join the ranks of U.S. Cyber Command, and $23 billion will be invested in cybersecurity, he said. Three types of teams will operate around the clock at Cyber Command, Dempsey said. National mission teams will counter adversary cyberattacks on the United States. "A second and larger set of teams will support our cornbatant commanders as A MESSAG EFOR U. S. MI LITARY FROM THE DE PARTMENTOFDEF ENSE. ' . FLE[S HMAN- HI LLARD Dempsey said. "Disrup- 'm Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey listens to a question at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., on June 27. Dempsey addressed the audience on the military's role in cyber security and then took questions. . • ;.4. 6 vIVO 1 v• • • PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS DANIEL HINTON/U.S. Navy illi mi W ASHINGTON — In its mission to defend the nation, the Defense Department must stay ahead of the ongoing technological revolution and its attendant rise in "anywhere, any time" cyber threats, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said June 27. "As the defense community begins to focus inward on the implications of changing resources and this thing called sequestration, I think it's important that we force ourselves to continue to look outward, at the changing world around us," Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told attendees at a Brookings Institution forum. Computers continue to be integrated into everyone's daily lives, the chairman said. "By this time next year, I'm quite certain that my toaster will be connected to the Internet and probably tweeting," he joked. "But the spread of digital technology has not been without consequence. It has also introduced new dangers to our security and our safety." Dempsey told the audience that in his two years as chairman, he has focused on what this revolution means for the military. He has spoken with information technology experts, major tech company security teams, and spent time with an Internet service provider. He even met with a venture capitalist, he said. "One thing is clear: Cyber has escalated from an issue of moderate concern to one of the most serious threats to our national security," Dempsey said. Now, the entire country could be disrupted by the click of a mouse, he added. To address these threats, the military must take on new missions, the chairman said. "Cyber incidents have steadily escalated over the past year," Dempsey said. Banks and oil cornpanies have been targeted by sophisticated attacks, he said, and more than 20 nations now have military cyber units. "This is the new normal in cyberspace," MIS )OKINGS BROOKINGS BROOKINGS .-'• . .•. ., American Forces Press Service tive, the department has developed emergency procedures to guide its response to imminent, significant cyber threats, the chairman said. The Defense Department is updating its cyber rules of engagement for the first time in seven years, he added, and also is improving mission command for cyber forces. While cyber may be the nation's greatest vulnerability, Dempsey said, it also presents the military with a tremendous asymmetric advantage. "The military that maintains the most agile and resilient networks will be the most effective in future war," he told the audience. "This is the kind of force we are building "The largest set of teams will operate and defend the networks that support our military operations worldwide." The most immediate priority is securing the "dot-mil" domain, the chairman said. "But in the event of a domestic cyber crisis," he added, "our cyber forces will work in support of the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, who lead our nation's response in the dot-gov and dot-corn domains." To ensure this force is able to operate quickly, the Defense Department now has a "playbook" for cyber, Dempsey said, noting that a presidential directive codifies how each part of the government will respond in the event of a serious cyberattack. Under this direc- Criv PI BY CLAUDETTE ROULE 3 |