Above All. The new Air Force slogan.

[Smokey]

From AF Times..
The Air Force formally unveiled a new advertising campaign and the slogan, "Above All."


"Above All" is supposed to reflect both the Air Force's physical presence over battlefields and the critical nature of the service's missions in air, space and cyberspace, according to officials at GSD&M Idea City, the Air Force's ad agency since 2001.

Below is the link to the video.

http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/af_aboveallad_080219/

[Al Sayre]

Sounds remarkably...  Hmmm what is the word I'm looking for?... Germanic.

USAF Uber Alles...  Airforce Uber Alles...

Wonder how long that'll last after the Berzerkly crowd gets ahold of it?

[mikeylikey]

"Above all" I want to puke!  "Above All" they could have gotten a narrator that sounded just a little more enthusiastic.  "Above All" they should have shown more airplanes.  "Above All" hints of "Army Strong".  Is it me or are these catchy "catch phrases" getting shorter and shorter??

"Above All", they could have produced something better.

[LtCol White]

maybe USAF should try something really cool like "More than meets the skies"

[BigMojo]

"More than meets the skies"

Make it stop! Make it stop!

[Walkman]

As an advertising pro, I like it. Quite a bit actually.

"More than meets the skies"

Make it stop! Make it stop!

I'm with ya'...

[Walkman]

I wonder if we can steal their old line to replace "MTMTS"

"Aim High" was really good IMHO

[BillB]

Someone send Big Mojo and email with "CAP we're on the go."

[♠SARKID♠]

Someone send Big Mojo and email with "CAP we're on the go."

Don't tempt me.

"Above all" they should have stuck with "Do Something Amazing".

[SamFranklin]

"Above All" is a good tagline. As soon as I heard it, my thoughts turned to the literal (altitude) and the metaphorical (high quality).  Then low and behold, the official explanation says that's exactly the effect they wanted to achieve.

Aim High, was good, too, but it takes time for these things to gain acceptance through repetition.  I say give Above All a chance.

The Marines' "Few the Proud..." is excellent, of course, but what the Marines are selling in part is their awesome tradition.  Because the Air Force is the youngest service and the most hi-tech, I think they're right to keep their slogan fresh.

But such a progressive attitude is apt to offend backward-looking traditionalists.

[JohnKachenmeister]

Right.  Backward-looking traditionalists.

You say that like its a BAD thing!

"The US Air Force... Hey, it was good enough for Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, and Ronald Reagan, why not you?"

[SamFranklin]

This thread started me looking for more about the new Air Force slogan. 

The official view talks of "recruiting the NEXT generation of airmen"  (emphasis mine).  I am not a marketer, but that explanation does mesh with my initial thought about why the Air Force needs to keep its advertising fresh.

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123087033

Also, I was hugely impressed by the rationale for the Air Force symbol and its potential to achieve cultural change.  Identity expert Tony Spaeth reviews it here (from 2000):

http://identityworks.com/reviews/2000/usaf.htm

[JohnKachenmeister]

This thread started me looking for more about the new Air Force slogan. 

The official view talks of "recruiting the NEXT generation of airmen"  (emphasis mine).  I am not a marketer, but that explanation does mesh with my initial thought about why the Air Force needs to keep its advertising fresh.

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123087033

Also, I was hugely impressed by the rationale for the Air Force symbol and its potential to achieve cultural change.  Identity expert Tony Spaeth reviews it here (from 2000):

http://identityworks.com/reviews/2000/usaf.htm

"Recruiting the NEXT generation of airmen" sounds like it should be OUR slogan.

[mikeylikey]

Because the Air Force is the youngest service and the most hi-tech, I think they're right to keep their slogan fresh.

Are they really the most high tech?  Some may differ on that opinion.

[SamFranklin]

Right.  Backward-looking traditionalists.

You say that like its a BAD thing!

"The US Air Force... Hey, it was good enough for Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, and Ronald Reagan, why not you?"

Sir, are you forgetting Reagan's famous "It's morning in America again..." commercial?  Dutch was one of the most forward-looking leaders of all time. He didn't want to roll back detente and containment, he wanted to create a future without a Soviet Union.

If you're looking for a leadership role model who is proud to be "backward-looking," Regan is not your man, but maybe George Wallace is.

[SamFranklin]

Are they really the most high tech?  Some may differ on that opinion.

Are you being serious?  No fighting force on the planet is as high-tech as the U.S. Air Force. I'm not saying that as a cheerleader, I think 99% of objective observers would agree with my claim. 

Where people disagree is whether technology makes enough of a difference in post-modern asymmetrical warfare. 

[mikeylikey]

^ I took your post to mean the AF was the most high tech of all the US Armed Services.  Sorry for the confusion.  I agree the USAF is the most high tech Air Force in the world.

[SamFranklin]

I'm putting way too much thought into the new slogan, but one modification I'd make is to remove the vertical bars separating the realms of battle:  "AIR | SPACE | CYBERSPACE."

If you're a force who controls those three domains -- a truly boundless force -- your graphical identity should reflect that. Why build little walls < | > when the service's own doctrine has morphed from "air and space" to "aerospace" and the like.

The better approach:
AIR   SPACE   CYBERSPACE

Nonetheless, a great slogan.

[BigMojo]

I do slogans and logos for a living too Walkman... The new AF slogan isn't bad at all...If they paid me what some NYC firm was paid for that, I'm SURE I could come up with something good too...

Anyone at NHQ watching...let me know if you need a little pro-bono work done...I'm sure Walkman and I can come up with something better than what we have now!

[Walkman]

Anyone at NHQ watching...let me know if you need a little pro-bono work done...I'm sure Walkman and I can come up with something better than what we have now!

Already in progress...

[Short Field]

Are they really the most high tech?  Some may differ on that opinion.

Are you being serious?  No fighting force on the planet is as high-tech as the U.S. Air Force. I'm not saying that as a cheerleader, I think 99% of objective observers would agree with my claim. 

Where people disagree is whether technology makes enough of a difference in post-modern asymmetrical warfare. 

While I am not an objective observer, I totally agree the USAF is the most high-tech service.   The second most high-tech would be the US Navy.  All the services run some advance systems, but the USAF probably has some of the most advanced, and more of them, - and the technical schools to train the people to support the advance systems.

[Senior]

I always thought that "Aim High" was perfect for the Country Club Attitude
of the Air Force "Zoomies".    An Army marksman aims for the center of
mass.    I always liked "The Few, The Proud" and "Be All That
You Can Be".  Yes I was in the Army, 13B, Artilleryman.   Yes, it is true you
only have to get close with a barrage of 155mm High Explosive (HE) rounds
to do the job.  I watched a firepower demo at Ft. Sill, bombers, Apache,
artillery, M1 Abrams, MLRS(the rockets landed in Ft. Hood, Texas).  I realized
to be on the receiving end of any one of these weapons systems that you
are so screwed beyond belief.

[sardak]

In a restroom at an Air Force base (I don't remember which one), above the urinals were bumper stickers with another AF slogan, "Look Up."  Human nature being what it is...
On the ceiling were pasted the "Aim High"  bumper stickers.

Mike

[JohnKachenmeister]

Right.  Backward-looking traditionalists.

You say that like its a BAD thing!

"The US Air Force... Hey, it was good enough for Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, and Ronald Reagan, why not you?"

Sir, are you forgetting Reagan's famous "It's morning in America again..." commercial?  Dutch was one of the most forward-looking leaders of all time. He didn't want to roll back detente and containment, he wanted to create a future without a Soviet Union.

If you're looking for a leadership role model who is proud to be "backward-looking," Regan is not your man, but maybe George Wallace is.

Hey Magoo...

I'm joking!

Besides... Wallace is dead.  And he wasn't running anyway.  In fact, he wasn't even walking since 1968.

[DogCollar]

[/quote]

Hey Magoo...

I'm joking!

Besides... Wallace is dead.  And he wasn't running anyway.  In fact, he wasn't even walking since 1968.
[/quote]

1972, actually.

[isuhawkeye]

hey.  let's leave Henery A. out of this

[LittleIronPilot]

It seems an "OK" slogan.

As for high-tech, hard to quantify, but I do not think there are too many (if any?) nuclear reactors in the Air Force? Those are definitely "high tech" so I think the Navy may have them (also if you add in THEIR "air force" it is almost what THE Air Forces is in terms of tech).

[Avery]

Are you being serious?  No fighting force on the planet is as high-tech as the U.S. Air Force. I'm not saying that as a cheerleader, I think 99% of objective observers would agree with my claim. 

And yet, Navy was called on to shoot down that satellite!

[_]

And yet, Navy was called on to shoot down that satellite!

FYI. The Air Force shot down a satellite back in 1985.  The Navy is a little late to the party.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASM-135_ASAT

[JohnKachenmeister]

Hey Magoo...

I'm joking!

Besides... Wallace is dead.  And he wasn't running anyway.  In fact, he wasn't even walking since 1968.
[/quote]

1972, actually.
[/quote]

Heck... If you remember the 70's, you weren't there!

[mikeylikey]

So what about all those Airman that never get to fly, that never step foot in a plane?  Are they really "Above All"??

[SJFedor]

So what about all those Airman that never get to fly, that never step foot in a plane?  Are they really "Above All"??

Of course!

AF dining facilities, for example. The one over at McGuire, or at Kirtland, all excellend facilities. Definitely "Above all"!

[Smokey]

Well...here is something from the Air Force Association's Magazine on line about the shootdown...

USAF Played Big Role in Satellite Shot: Air Force personnel and expertise as well as its space-monitoring assets contributed much to the US military's successful intercept of a doomed American intelligence satellite on Feb. 20, USAF's top space general said Thursday (see above). "Air Force Space Command and our space surveillance network and our space situational awareness and our ability to understand the space environment were all critical and significant players in that activity," Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command told an audience at AFA's Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. Speaking after his presentation to reporters, Kehler elaborated, saying AFSPC's space-surveillance assets were in use for weeks prior to the shootdown mission to help plan it and will continue to monitor the remains of the satellite for weeks to come. "Maintenance of the catalog [of on-orbit objects], doing collision avoidance and then the analytical capability that we could bring from various parts of Air Force Space Command were all used here in a substantial way," he said. "Air Force ground- and space-based sensors presented to US Strategic Command were part of the sensor network and played a big role, both in tracking the target ahead of time, giving precise target location ahead of time, and then in monitoring both the launch and the impact and then the post-[shot] debris assessment."

By the way.......The pilot who shot down the satellite in 1985 with the F-15 , Maj Doug Pearson went on to become Maj Gen Doug Pearson ( a friend of mine) who until he retired a couple of years ago headed the Air Force Flight Test Center (Edwards AFB). He now works for Lockheed. And his son is an Eagle Driver at Mtn Home AFB.

[ZigZag911]

For the longest time, USMC has had the only decent slogan/tag line or whatever you call it of the military services.

"Not just a job, an adventure"? could just as easily meant Peace Corps, Americorps, medical missionary service, SPCA enforcement officer, or, for that matter, "repo man"!

"Aim High"? Won't that mean you miss the target??

"Army of One"?? yeah, that's intimidating to the nation's foes -- "Knock it off, or we're going to send one rugged individualist after another to get you!"

"There's strong, then there's Army strong" sounds like an add for laundry detergent.

"Be All That You Can Be" was co-opted by the principal of a high school I taught for many years ago....a nun....she LOVED it!!  Now, I won't deny that nuns can terrify the average Catholic school kid, but they still aren't what leaps to me mind when I think "warrior ethic"!

Bottom line: however much or little the DOD and it's constituent branches have spent on advertising in the past several decades, much of it has been wasted!

[JohnKachenmeister]

ZZ:

You are right.

But don't forget to include "The Army Wants to Join You" in your hall of shame!

[ZigZag911]

Kach,

You are SO right, I'd forgotten that touchy-feely travesty!

[Gunner C]

In the late 1970s there was a non-authorized poster that was used by recruiters - Many of you may remember it.  It was a picture of a sergeant from the 82nd Airborne Division with an M60 machine gun. The caption was:

"U.S. paratroopers give the enemy maximum opportunity to die for their country."

Kids were eating it up!  They wanted to be just like that soldier.  Then the Recruiting Command and the Army found out about it.  They went BOZO about it.  People were relieved of duty, the poster was banned, and the warrior ethos was no longer allowed to be displayed in recruiting offices.

Jimmy Carter - if we love the bad guys enough, they'll love us back.

GC

[SAR-EMT1]

I hate the new slogan. Seems too particular to aviation types.

As for the video: coulda seen a 5th grader do a better job.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Someone send Big Mojo and email with "CAP we're on the go."

Sounds more like a slogan for Phillips' Milk of Magnesia, maybe Pepto-Bismol... though I hear the Pepto people tried to sue McDonald's for copyright infringement on the McD slogan, "Did Somebody Say McDonald's?"

Walkman and BigMojo -- Count me in with you two, not from an ad perspective but from a writing/editing/visual editing one.

[ZigZag911]

"They'll like us when we win!"

Toby Ziegler, "The West Wing"

[mikeylikey]

How about a new slogan that is more relevant to the modern battle

"Should have joined the Army"  or  "You will do nothing you see in this commercial"  or  "Visit Iraq lately"   or  "In today RIF'ed tomorrow"

Seriously, I hate to say it, but the AF is doing more direct support missions for the other services.  Driving a truck through the streets of Baghdad in an Army convoy was most likely NOT what Airman Snuffy signed up for.  Manning POL sites and being a gas attendant for a Marine unit was (again) something Airman Joe did not sign up for.  The AF has changed in its mission.  Sure they still have missiles and airplanes, but most of the work they do today is support work.  It is not the AF of 10 years ago.

[ZigZag911]

Sounds like the AF has become combat support corps for the Army!

[Major Carrales]

Just face it, you guys hate any slogun that come out from any one and love ones that have been inactive for years or when you were in you hayday.

But fret not, maybe the time for such rethoric has actually passed.  Why don;t we just use the long tried "mottos" of the past.  Semper Vigilans being a prime example of a good one.

Sorry, I think Mama Cass was right about "Words of Love" not "winning...hearts any more."  It is the actions of the organization, and the spread of those good deeds, that attract the next generation of CAP.

[ZigZag911]

Sparky, show me a slogan with more pizzazz than a fortune cookie aphorism, I'll LOVE it!

[Major Carrales]

Sparky, show me a slogan with more pizzazz than a fortune cookie aphorism, I'll LOVE it!

Ha!!!  We live in time where deep thinking is considered "uncool," where people of progress that better and educate themselves are looked on as disgraceful and distainfully as "schoolboys" and "nerds" while "pimps and hoes" are revered as the new ROCKSTAR ORACLES. 

The point, expect not things of exreme mental stimulation or value.

But I you must ask me my opinion the best "catch phrase for CAP" is remarkably simple.

Civil Air Patrol: Always Vigilant!

Simple, traditional and topical.

[JohnKachenmeister]

Sparky, show me a slogan with more pizzazz than a fortune cookie aphorism, I'll LOVE it!

Ha!!!  We live in time where deep thinking is considered "uncool," where people of progress that better and educate themselves are looked on as disgraceful and distainfully as "schoolboys" and "nerds" while "pimps and hoes" are revered as the new ROCKSTAR ORACLES. 

The point, expect not things of exreme mental stimulation or value.

But I you must ask me my opinion the best "catch phrase for CAP" is remarkably simple.

Civil Air Patrol: Always Vigilant!

Simple, traditional and topical.

"Vigilant?"

Most nitwit junior high school students don't know what that word means.

Perhaps that is the beauty of it... those who understand it are smart enough to participate in the Cadet Program!

[Major Carrales]

Sparky, show me a slogan with more pizzazz than a fortune cookie aphorism, I'll LOVE it!

Ha!!!  We live in time where deep thinking is considered "uncool," where people of progress that better and educate themselves are looked on as disgraceful and distainfully as "schoolboys" and "nerds" while "pimps and hoes" are revered as the new ROCKSTAR ORACLES. 

The point, expect not things of exreme mental stimulation or value.

But I you must ask me my opinion the best "catch phrase for CAP" is remarkably simple.

Civil Air Patrol: Always Vigilant!

Simple, traditional and topical.

"Vigilant?"

Most nitwit junior high school students don't know what that word means.

Perhaps that is the beauty of it... those who understand it are smart enough to participate in the Cadet Program!

I agree, most Middle School students are so lacking in vocabulary it is not a wonder why the have a hard time with standardized tests.

[JohnKachenmeister]

Sparky, show me a slogan with more pizzazz than a fortune cookie aphorism, I'll LOVE it!

Ha!!!  We live in time where deep thinking is considered "uncool," where people of progress that better and educate themselves are looked on as disgraceful and distainfully as "schoolboys" and "nerds" while "pimps and hoes" are revered as the new ROCKSTAR ORACLES. 

The point, expect not things of exreme mental stimulation or value.

But I you must ask me my opinion the best "catch phrase for CAP" is remarkably simple.

Civil Air Patrol: Always Vigilant!

Simple, traditional and topical.

"Vigilant?"

Most nitwit junior high school students don't know what that word means.

Perhaps that is the beauty of it... those who understand it are smart enough to participate in the Cadet Program!

I agree, most Middle School students are so lacking in vocabulary it is not a wonder why the have a hard time with standardized tests.

I know.  I once subbed in a history class and was explaining Pearl Harbor and America's entry into World War II, and I had to explain the meaning of "Infamy."

[jb512]

Hey, at least theirs is original and not stolen from a cartoon.

[ZigZag911]

Sparky, I'm 100% behind Semper Vigilans....it's classy, direct, accurate (we hope!) and Latin!

It's all this nonsense of armies of one and army wants to join you and above and away or whatever the latest AF silliness is...too vague, too weak, sorry, that's how I feel!

[Fifinella]

I miss the old Air Force mission statement: "To fly, fight, and win."  Succinct and motivational.

"Above All" is better than "An Army of One".  We could make it really easy for the next generation: "Go Blue" for AF, "Go Green" for Army, etc.  (They do still know their colors, don't they?  )

[JohnKachenmeister]

I miss the old Air Force mission statement: "To fly, fight, and win."  Succinct and motivational.

"Above All" is better than "An Army of One".  We could make it really easy for the next generation: "Go Blue" for AF, "Go Green" for Army, etc.  (They do still know their colors, don't they?  )

The Navy and Marine Corps wear blue and green, respectively, and the Army is eliminating the Army Green uniform in favor of having the Army Blue uniform as the sole dress uniform. 

Are you trying to confuse recent public high school graduates?

[Fifinella]

^^Hmm.  Obviously the branches of service need to "brand" and trademark colors, or all will become chaos. 

[afgeo4]

Because the Air Force is the youngest service and the most hi-tech, I think they're right to keep their slogan fresh.

Are they really the most high tech?  Some may differ on that opinion.

Well... it is the Air Force that's tasked with heading cyber warfare. In fact, Cyber Command is about to stand up as the new MAJCOM.

Air Force now fights in the air, space and cyberspace, in case you haven't heard.

I like "Above All". It's short, to the point, and easy to remember. That's what marketing slogans should be. USAF is above all other Air Forces, literally and figuratively.

[afgeo4]

I miss the old Air Force mission statement: "To fly, fight, and win."  Succinct and motivational.

"Above All" is better than "An Army of One".  We could make it really easy for the next generation: "Go Blue" for AF, "Go Green" for Army, etc.  (They do still know their colors, don't they?  )

The Navy and Marine Corps wear blue and green, respectively, and the Army is eliminating the Army Green uniform in favor of having the Army Blue uniform as the sole dress uniform. 

Are you trying to confuse recent public high school graduates?

Hey, even the most famous USMC uniform isn't green. It's blue (dress blues). However, the Navy is abandoning its winter blues uniforms for khakis.

[Senior]

The Air Force is still the country club of the Armed Forces
Yes I was in the Army so I can say that about the Aim High(?) Air Force.
About uniforms and colors don't forget the ARMY Dress Whites, yes they
do exist.  Also the Army has a dress uniform with a cape.

[JohnKachenmeister]

The Army Tropical White went away with the Army Green.  Its just that nobody noticed because it hasn't been worn since Jimmy Carter gave away our Canal.

[Grumpy]

The Air Force is still the country club of the Armed Forces
Yes I was in the Army so I can say that about the Aim High(?) Air Force.
About uniforms and colors don't forget the ARMY Dress Whites, yes they
do exist.  Also the Army has a dress uniform with a cape.

Hey, is the Army still using the "Time Out Cards" in basic training?

[JohnKachenmeister]

No, now they have to write "I will not shine my boots with a Hershey bar" 100 times.

[Grumpy]

I never did, I used Neslies Crunch.  It was a little time consuming with the crunchies and all but then I wanted to impress my DI.   

[afgeo4]

How about a new slogan that is more relevant to the modern battle

"Should have joined the Army"  or  "You will do nothing you see in this commercial"  or  "Visit Iraq lately"   or  "In today RIF'ed tomorrow"

Seriously, I hate to say it, but the AF is doing more direct support missions for the other services.  Driving a truck through the streets of Baghdad in an Army convoy was most likely NOT what Airman Snuffy signed up for.  Manning POL sites and being a gas attendant for a Marine unit was (again) something Airman Joe did not sign up for.  The AF has changed in its mission.  Sure they still have missiles and airplanes, but most of the work they do today is support work.  It is not the AF of 10 years ago.

Why so negative Mikey? The AF has always supported other branches. Unless we're fighting a nation with a superb air force (and I don't know of one aside from Russia or China), there's not much dog fighting to be done (and wasn't 10 years ago, so I don't know what your point is).

The bulk of AF work right now is close air support with AC-130U, A/O-10, F-15E, F-16C; intel work being done with AWACS, Rivet Joint, Compass Call, and JSTARS; and of course strategic and tactical airlift with C-130, C-17 and C-5. Add to that refueling assets of KC-130, KC-10 and KC-135 and CSAR/SOF with HH-60, HH-53, and C-130 and you have a full array of missions that the Air Force trains, equips and deploys to perform.

Visit www.af.mil for more details.

What were you expecting? F-16 vs. MiG-29 dog fighting at 20,000ft? This is real war, not the movies.

[mikeylikey]

^ Not negative.  Just what I see on a daily basis.  I have a good Friend who went AF and several months later was applying for the Blue to Green program because the AF let him go as he was one of the few unlucky Lt's to be in the bottom 1/3 of all Lt's.

I have had Airman drive trucks for my unit in Iraq, I have watched the AF take on a bigger support role since 2001.  Face it, the AF is transitioning, thats why we are creating "Joint Basis" all across the country.  Moving the transport assets of the AF to Army and Marine posts is soon to be the norm. 

I visited Fort Lewis/McChord AFB (soon to be Joint Base Lewis-McChord) and saw the transformation that has begun.  The AF is loosing its medical services to the Army, as well as its (number 2 ranked Commissary in the country to the one on Lewis). 

If the Army would just absorb the AF transport and refueling assets we would be able to consolidate a whole lot and that would equal less $$ the taxpayers have to dish out!  (but I know that will never happen, so no need to let me know that!)

[afgeo4]

I know you're Army Mikey, but please... look at it from both sides sometimes.


First of all, USAF trucks don't have Army drivers. USAF has an AFSC (MOS) called transportation. That's people who drive cars, trucks, buses, etc. They do their job not just during peace time, but during war as well. Second, just like y'all get to do jobs you're not assigned (such as most Field Arty doing MP work now), we get to do it too. It's not because USAF sucks. It's because the Army doesn't have enough troops to maintain the operational tempo that's been assigned to them.

The blue to green... it happens... to all branches. It is a direct result of a scaled down budget. The money's going to USA and USMC right now because THIS war is being primarily fought by grunts. Same things happened back during the cold war, but it was the Army taking cuts and soldiers switching green to blue. Expect more of it since USAF weapons systems need less and less people to operate and maintain them.

After everything else, please remember that 99.9% of airmen perform their regular AFSC duties, not some alternate work. Also, most airmen deploy for up to 120 days and not 18 months.

On the topic of JFB McChord AFB/Ft. Lewis... I don't know who's going to be running the show there, but they're closing up the commissary on McChord because you only need one and the one at Lewis was chosen. Same thing is happening at Joint Forces Base McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst. You don't need 2 BXs, 2 Commissaries and the like. Btw... that base will be under command of Air Force personnel.

[♠SARKID♠]

I just saw an AF commercial with the "Above All" slogan; first one I've seen on TV.  It was targeted at promoting the new cyberspace aspect and I have to say, it didn't make that big of an impact on me.  What did make an impact was something on the AF website.

There was a survey on the airforce video page asking if people thought that cyberwar was a possibility.  84% of people thought it was.  I think its a good look into the future of our world and the wars that we will wage within it.

Think about this -

AIR
This is the embodiment of the AF's classic role.  In a shooting war, we dominate the airspace as we always have and will.  When it comes to the nitty gritty "what's our combat role", its air power.

SPACE
Most people don't realize that the Air Force's space program is larger than NASA.  We have many assets up in orbit and somebody needs to protect them.  All world communications are, at some point, routed through satellites.  Think of the damages an entity could cause if they started shooting satellites out of the sky!  The recent satellite shoot down by the Navy and the Chinese satellite incident show that this is a possibility.  Remember, if a military has the capability, they're going to use it eventually.  Having the AF protecting the dark sky is a mission I support.

CYBERSPACE
Everything is digital nowadays.  Top secret documents, infrastructure control, communications, economy, identity, banks, everything is digital.  And to me, digital is synonymous with vulnerable.  Just recently, Russia has been accused of attacking the country of Estonia via cyber-warfare.  If Russia is behind the act, it will be the first known case of one state attacking another on this scale.  What happens when this plays a role in a full scale war?  What would happen if an enemy state took control of our power, utilities, communications, etc.  They would have us by the scruff of our necks and theres nothing we would be able to do about it.  How does it feel knowing that at a single mouse click every bank account in the country could be wiped clean?  Or that every digital item labeled "top secret" could be stolen, exposing our weaknesses and allowing easy exploitation of our national security?  I go back to the space argument: guess how course corrections are sent to satellites - digitally.  Click, click, down it goes.  What really perks my interest about cyberwar is that it can be fought anonymously.  We could be attacked, and we wouldn't know where to retaliate.  Some might think I'm being paranoid or exaggerating the situation, but I think my arguments are right on the money.  I'm glad that the Air Force has taken this mission under their wing (haha, airplane humor) protecting our most vulnerable weak spot.

AIR | SPACE | CYBERSPACE
I'm all for it.

[SJFedor]

How does it feel knowing that at a single mouse click every bank account in the country could be wiped clean? 

If they wanna go ahead and do that to all the credit card companies, I'm sure not that many people would mind. Just let me know the day prior 

[♠SARKID♠]

How does it feel knowing that at a single mouse click every bank account in the country could be wiped clean? 

If they wanna go ahead and do that to all the credit card companies, I'm sure not that many people would mind. Just let me know the day prior 

I'm with ya there! 

I didn't even put down the whole list of things I thought.  Its the economic ones that scare me the most.  What happens when the banks are wiped clean, the stock exchange is fragged, and the economy collapses like a senior member gone too many days without donuts?

[JohnKachenmeister]

How does it feel knowing that at a single mouse click every bank account in the country could be wiped clean? 

If they wanna go ahead and do that to all the credit card companies, I'm sure not that many people would mind. Just let me know the day prior 

I was hoping that was going to happen on Y2K.  I'm still trying to pay down the Visa I loaded up!