Air Force Offers Cyberspace Career Field for Enlisted Airmen

While the economy and the civilian job market sputtered in November 2010, the Air Force opened a new job frontier for enlisted military Airmen who are skilled with computer networks, by opening the 1B4X1 cyberspace operations career field.

While there have been other military specialties to provide cyberspace support, the 1B4X1 career field is the only enlisted specialty in the Air Force dedicated to cyberspace operations, according to Air Force Space Command.

1B4X1 CYBERSPACE OPERATIONS

Positions in the career field 1B4X1 cyberspace operations are open to Air Force service members as a retrain-only specialty, for service members who demonstrate previous knowledge and aptitude. The majority of military airmen retraining into the 1B4X1 career field are transferring from cyber support and intelligence careers.

The Air Force is limiting the 1B4X1 career field to retrain-only because computer operation skills are time-consuming to learn and needs constant practice in order to retrain properly. The 1B4X1 career specialty is designed to reuse this specialty training over the entire career of a military air force service member, according to Space Command.

MILITARY CYBERSPACE WARRIORS

The cyberspace defense operations career field fills the need for a new type of warrior in the U.S. military, one who supports and defends the U.S. using the ever-expanding capabilities available through cyberspace operations, along with our military warriors who serve on the front lines.

Interested servicemembers marked their calendars for January 2011 as the first class of cyberspace operators training, followed by six subsequent classes and producing 75 active-duty and Air National Guard airmen for the career field by Sept. 30, 2011.

HOW QUALIFIED AIRMEN APPLY FOR RETRAINING

Airmen applying to retrain into 1B4X1 career field can visit the Virtual Military Personnel Flight website and click on "Retraining" to begin the process.

Initial qualification training and mission qualification training for military service members will be available at Hurlburt Field, Fla. After determining eligibility, the first 85 days of Initial Skills Training take place at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.