Cyber Special Program Office

Department of Defense (DOD) standard 8320.02 establishes the need for all subordinate organizations to share information through metadata tagging of information. The United States Air Force's recent consolidation of cyber capabilities under the 24th Numbered Air Force formerly AFCYBER, under the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) major command, and the DOD's proposed United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) arrange the strategic levels of cyber capabilities. However, to meet DOD Standard 8320.02 on the operational and tactical levels, Air Force leaders need to establish a special program office (SPO), or cyber SPO, which collectively manages all cyber and communications assets providing standardized, integrated systems, with consolidated, cradle-to-grave asset and information management similar to existing aircraft and space platform SPOs. This research paper conceptually envisions a proposed framework for how a cyber SPO would look, function, and its initial focus items and its efforts to meet DOD Standard 8320.02, for information sharing. Using the proposed cyber SPO solutions and resulting efforts to meet the 8320.02 standard, the Air Force has the opportunity to save a minimum of 21.8 million dollars per year in network costs, thousands of man hours in reduced information processing times, and improving workflow processes across the Air Force. Applied across the DOD's total population, there is a potential opportunity, for saving an additional 128 million dollars (approximate) in network costs utilizing the same cyber SPO concepts, with even greater work force, man-hour savings.