Cyber Command’s new emblem can’t be anointed officially until the new command is stood up this October, but the one in the works replicates the former Strategic Air Command’s patch.Only “minor modifications” have been made to the SAC emblem to create AFCYBER’s design and “bring it up to current Air Force emblem standards,” according to service documents.
“By assuming the lineage of the Strategic Air Command, cyber-warriors demonstrate the ability to project strength and achieve global effects with the inclusion of the cyberspace domain, with air and space,” according to lineage and heritage records.
But that striking similarity to Strategic Air CommandÂ’s patch has started a controversy. Former airmen who served under SAC have posted on multiple Internet blogs their displeasure at the almost identical designs.
“I respect the fact that our ‘cyber warriors’ are a critical asset in our force structure, but in my opinion they should wear a patch of their own design, not one lifted from a previous generation,” said retired Col. Ron Thurlow via e-mail.