Defense Attaché group visits 16th Air Force, prepares for integrated deterrence

  • Published
  • By Matthew McGovern
The security of our Nation, and protection of our partners and allies relies on strengthening deterrence, a cornerstone of the National Defense Strategy.

Twenty-nine defense attachés with the Defense Attaché Orientation Program, representing 21 various countries, convened at 16th Air Force Sept. 11, to discuss integrated deterrence and understand cyber capabilities for future coordination.

“Seeing the incredible number of nations, uniforms, and flags here today makes me proud for us to host you,” said Lt. Gen. Thomas Hensley, 16th Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) commander. “When you think about the global problem sets, we must work together as allies and partners to be able to find outcomes and get to solutions as quickly as possible.”

The group traveled from their respective embassies in D.C. to engage with 16th Air Force and the 688th and 67th Cyberspace Wings. They received mission briefings and gained insight on efforts to pursue deterrence in the cyber domain.

“If we're trying to deter our adversaries, we need to do it in such a way where we get their attention, and it actually deters them,” said Hensley. “That goes back to the exquisite intelligence that we need to, not only plan, but get reflections back to know we made a difference.”

During the August 2024 U.S. Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium, Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that deterrence messaging can potentially be undermined through cyberoperations and information warfare and, "these dynamics require an unprecedented level of coordination to ensure that United States' messages — in coordination with our allies and partners — are not only heard but are also accurately interpreted to achieve the desired deterrent effect.”

Similarly, Hensley said 16th Air Force is “evolving to focus on great power competition and pressing very hard with innovation. There is a technological race for AI, ML, and quantum computing hypersonics, the way that drones are being employed in combat.”

Attaché guests also learned of the Phoenix Initiative, a 16th Air Force program focused on driving modernization by coordinating with industry and academic institutions to discern their technologies and expertise to gain insights into the force.

“We're reaching out to academia and reaching out to industry think tanks to help us develop our capabilities so that we can accelerate, so that we can better support USSPACECOM and STRATCOM and EUCOM and all the combat commands from that standpoint,” said Hensley. “Quite frankly, as we look at how we want to try to reduce adverse effects in the cyber domain, we’re working very closely with our allies and partners on Intel sharing, access sharing, tool development; there's quite a bit of collaboration to be innovative, but there's also a sense of urgency to do it quick.”

The attaché visit provides the most senior foreign defense diplomats an appreciation of cyber elements and how they’re used for integrated deterrence by working seamlessly across the domain with alliances and partnerships.

Canadian Army Maj. Gen. Michel-Henri St-Louis, Canada Embassy defense attaché, said this U.S.-Canada partnership regarding innovation and modernizing is crucial.

“Understanding each other’s capabilities and having a better sense of where we can work together, especially in emerging and new domains that might not have been at the forefront of what we were talking about 20-30 years ago is important,” said St-Louis. “Moving forward, it’s critical to understand how to calibrate and integrate better.”  

St-Louis and the other attaches also received a cyber weapon systems brief describing operations equipment and procedures to defend against cyber adversaries.  
 
German Navy Rear Adm. Axel Ristau, German Embassy defense attaché, described what he believed was critical to future cyber conflict.    

“I think the next conflict in the world won’t start with an artillery grenade, it will be a cyber-hybrid grey zone start,” said Ristau. “The answer to this cyber activity isn’t a Leopard II tank or a fighter jet, it is a similar capability to defend yourself in this worldwide domain. Therefore, you will have to react with other countries—partners and allies.”

The attachés also visited Fort Knox and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and Fort Worth and Johnson Space Center, Texas, during their tour.

“We are on a journey,” said Norwegian Navy Rear Admiral Ole Morten Sandquist, Norwegian Embassy defense attaché. “We’ve been traveling now for seven days; we’ve seen several commands and units to get a better understanding of deterrence and how it’s all connected,” said Sandquist. “Being with you today has helped me and the rest of the team connect the dots and understand how you support the different commands.”

The event closed with a reminder that mutually-beneficial alliances and partnerships are the greatest global strategic advantage.

“Everything we do needs to be done in a way to support NATO and the Alliance,” said Hensley. “The security dynamics are certainly changing there and coming back to NATO being the center of gravity. It's about allies, it's about partnerships, it's about working together, collaborating and being transparent, intel sharing, tool development, all of that is incredibly important.”