U.S. Cyber Command’s (CYBERCOM) Air Force component could add “well over” 1,000 jobs, largely civilian, in the next two years to help the service and the combatant command bolster their cyber defense efforts, according to the Air Force’s space chief.
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) chief Gen. William Shelton told reporters recently at a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington the more than 1,000 additional jobs for the 24th Air Force would represent an increase of about 16 percent. Shelton said the hires will likely be 70 or 80 percent civilian.
“That (hiring) direction has not been given yet, (but) we think that will be part of the fiscal year 2014 direction,” Shelton said.
Shelton, as the head of Air Force Space Command, has authority over the 24th Air Force, which is the operational warfighting organization that establishes, operates, maintains and defends Air Force networks.
Shelton’s announcement comes just a few days after a pair of Air Force brass told major command leaders the service was planning for long-term budgetary uncertainty in case multi-billion dollars in sequestration cuts take place.
But Shelton said the potential adding of cyber jobs emphasizes how seriously the Pentagon takes defending critical infrastructure, adding there are one million probes of Defense Department computer networks every day.
“This is big stuff right now,” Shelton said.