Joint Force Quarterly
Abstract
As global competition in the cybersphere increases, questions about the United States’ capability in the cybersphere also increase. This paper examines the current conditions surrounding the discussion of U.S. cyber capability and determines if the conditions surrounding the discussion that led to the creation of The United States Air Force and The United States Space Force exist for the cyber conditions today.
Using the process model used in Bruno Dyck and Frederick Starke’s “The Formation of Breakaway Organizations: Observations and a Process Model” this paper analyzes the stages and triggers that led to new organizations breaking away from their parent organizations. While this model was developed when evaluating non-profit and faith-based organizations, its stages and triggers are useful for studying military organizations as well.
After studying the history and causes of what led to breakaway formations of the Air Force and the Space Force, evidence shows that conditions exist to support the creation of a separate Cyber Force. This analytical framework will provide a unique lens with which policy makers can address whether the United States needs to consider creating a separate Cyber Force based on examples found within the nation’s history resulting in new organizational formation.
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