Slashdot Mirror
Air Force Seeking Geeks For 'Cyber Command'
An anonymous reader writes "Wired reports that the two-star general in charge of the US Air Force's new Cyber Command is looking for hacker-types to beef up its cadre of cyber warriors — no heavy lifting required. 'We have to change the way we think about warriors of the future,' General William Lord says. 'So if they can't run three miles with a pack on their backs but they can shut down SCADA system, we need to have a culture where they fit in.' The Cyber Command is the Air Force's first new Major Command since the early 1990s. Its purpose is to be able to win an electronic war with China and other potential adversaries."
China and other potential adversaries.
I can't be the only dude from the EU who has noticed a slow rise in anti-China stuff on slashdot?
Do other news sources in the US have this slant? Because looking at it from the outside, it's like the US^H^H^H^H Fox News is seeking a new bogeyman now the cold war is over. Unfortunately some of this is rubbing off on a more intellegent news source like
Anyone quoted by a reporter knows how little they understand
Don't believe what you read is the truth.
Actually, they do. The military has no problem hiring the very best if they want to. Half the best physicists and electrical engineers I knew at MIT -- and the better half, typically -- went either directly into the military (via ROTC) or worked for defense contractors. Why not? It's where the really interesting physics and engineering was being done, the pay and benefits were great, and you weren't hassled by dumbass marketing suits wanting you to make your product cute or cheap.
The military wants their tech to work and be way cooler and better than anyone else's stuff, cost to them is no object, and they don't give a fuck what it looks like or whether it "appeals" to the critical 18-25 Facebook demographic. It's going to be painted olive drab anyway, and soldiers will be told to use it, not begged. Fairly ideal working conditions for a really smart technical person, I'd say. The only drawback is the various amounts of bureaucratic bullshit you have to cope with, which tops the level in a good private firm.
Anyway, I've never heard of a good technical job in the military or one of its prime contractors, or one of the defense-associated national labs, not drawing a huge raft of top-notch applicants. It's agencies like the EPA which pay terribly, have hideous civil-service and union rules weighing them down, and which, frankly, involve boring and outdated technology, which end up desperate to hire even third-rate people.
Of course it is -- their mission is to protect us. If peace is the better way (say, compared to the shit going on for the past seven years in Iraq), they should just salute and look for the assignments board.
Why do you think the troops spend a lot of time in Iraq building schools, water purification plants, etc.? When he's president, Obama should just tell them, "Get your asses back stateside and build schools and water purification plants for our own people.
So far, to take revenge for some 3K deaths in NY, we've sacrificed nearly 4K of our own troops. Never to mention a good 60K to 100K Iraquis. There's a hell of a start -- do you think there's a single family in Iraq which hasn't had multiple members killed by Bushfuck? That bastard has set us up for a thousand generations of hatred and revenge.
If you think the terrorists haven't won, consider that we're about a trillion into the war, with at least another trillion in future payments for medical and psychological care for our surviving troops and their families. And that's not to count the value our nation will never get back by having these people in productive jobs.
There never has been and will never again be a project with a better ROI for the perpetrates than 9/11.
The terrorists will not have long to hate our freedom -- our own government will take it all away on behalf of the terrorists. They won't have to lift another finger, except for the medial digit.
The only answer is to stop the killing by all those involved using communication and other methods.
Like appeasement? Or bribery? Or lying to avoid conflict? Or global adoption of your philosophy? How do you plan on convincing people to not want "your stuff" or to not want you dead or worse? Are you going to inform them that it is hurtful?
I'll suggest that communication alone may never bring peace, because communication does not address disagreement at the philosophical level. It just defines the boundaries of the disagreement.
You really do eat the propaganda from the military don't you.
Way to communicate. I'm sure your patience, empathy and understanding will bring love and peace to /. in no time.
Oh wait, maybe I misinterpreted that statement as being condescending. Either way, maybe you should consider improving your communication with people you do not agree with.
God I love irony.
Hasn't the military been getting people to sign up by blatantly lying to them about what they'd wind up doing once they got in for...ever? Once they get you to sign on the dotted line, it doesn't matter if they told you that you WOULD be smoking pot and playing video games all day. They can put you wherever they need you once you sign. No complaints, no law suits, nothing. Door to door in Iraq or afghanistan. Who knows, you could wind up hacking all day.
While I can understand them (or any employer for that matter) requesting you dont come in drunk/high on the job (thus their time), but short of people on call 24 hrs, I cant see any difference between smoking up for a weekend and getting drunk (thus YOUR time), as neither effects your job!
If my employer asked me to stop drinking milk at home, or to stop buying scotch tape, I would think just as little of them as when im asked to not smoke up at home too.
And no, I dont smoke (only cigerettes), but hell that could be next if we dont keep them in check now!