A historic change for the Air Force Communications Agency will occur Wednesday as it will re-designate to the Air Force Network Integration Center to more accurately reflect its role in cyberspace operations.
Along with the re-designation ceremony is a change in leadership as Col. Carl Williamson relinquishes command to Col. John Odey, the same day 10 a.m. in Hangar 1.
The name change comes at a time when the Air Force continues to align its cyber forces under Air Force Space Command, located at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., which has the lead for organizing, training and equipping its people to perform the space and cyberspace mission.
AFCA is just one of several organizations that will ultimately fall under the command, which is led by Gen. C. Robert Kehler. The 24th Air Force functions as the warfighting arm of cyber operations and is scheduled to stand up later this summer in San Antonio, Texas.
General Kehler met with members of AFCA in May to discuss the way ahead and spoke about lessons learned from previous integration efforts in his career.
"This is significant ... because it means you have a major-command advocate and authority figure to help you as we move toward the one Air Force, one network goal," he said. "We construct access, we operate the network, defend it, attack and exploit ... We're not just providing communications to aircraft crews. We're in a domain that is contested. When we log on to our computers now, we're in a combat zone. We're all defenders!"
He said the workforce will remain the communications experts and that they're going to be careful as they move forward in assigning cyberspace and communications roles. AFCA members were also assured that their legacy will be preserved and that he's looking at ways to ensure both the space and communications/cyber culture are represented as one team.
AFCA serves as the Air Force's focal point for network integration through resourcing, assessments and validation, architectures and analysis and network engineering. They also build, test and sustain common network and communications systems. AFCA traces its heritage back to 1938 when it was the Army Airways Communications System and has since served as a major command, service, wing and now center.
The communications and information community has a rich history of commanders and enlisted members who have led the service toward a technological and information-enabled future.
Colonel Williamson said, "The Air Force continues to transform, and we are moving in the right direction. We have the right people with the right skills to continue to help the Air Force meet the demands of today's mission requirements. We will continue to be the center of excellence for the Air Force, and we will bring that expertise to this warfighting domain and continue finding solutions to our challenges."
Karen Petitt
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