Defending Against Nontraditional Threats

December's luncheon guest speaker was Col. Harvey Newton, USAF, deputy director of operations, Air Combat Command (ACC), Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. Col. Newton spoke on the effects of the cyber domain's emergence and the rise of nontraditional threats. Defending against these threats has reshaped the types of personnel required to operate in this environment, he said. Airmen require greater investments in areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These critical skill sets do not merely support the warfighter: "They are the warfighter," Col. Newton said. Collaborations across all operational domains will produce results that are greater than the sum of the parts. The Air Force must instill a multidomain mindset within every airman who will, in the words of aviation pioneer Jimmy Doolittle, be prepared to fight "from the neck up."

Event Photographs: