Shaping the Joint Fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace

September 18, 1947, marked the birthday of the U.S. Air Force as a separate Service. Less than a month later, Captain Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, and since then America's Air Force has continued to push the envelope as the Nation's sword and shield over its own skies, while serving heroically in locations around the world. In addition to flying and fighting, the Air Force has maintained a credible nuclear deterrent, exploited space, and is now tapping the potential of cyberspace as a warfighting domain. In short, the Air Force has transformed itself for over 60 years in the face of dramatic world change. The Service's missions now extend past the Earth's atmosphere and across a boundless virtual landscape. Today's Air Force operates in three domains: air, space, and cyberspace. As a result, Airmen bring distinctive perspectives and capabilities to influence targets and actions anywhere around the globe as a multidimensional maneuver force. While the Air Force must continue to develop capabilities in its three operating domains, it must also transform and exploit shared, cross-domain attributes as it continues to provide decisive options for national leaders, combatant commanders, and joint forces. Maintaining a future joint military advantage in an era of exponential change requires a more concerted effort to integrate these domains. Airmen who are experts in the space domain will play a key role in that integration as they build upon a proud heritage to meet the challenges of a dynamic future.
Published in the Joint Force Quarterly (JFQ) i49 p32-37, 2nd qtr 2008