3/2/2007 — CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN, WYOMING (AFNEWS) — Headquarters Stargate Command was placed under the Air Force's new Cyber Command in a ceremony held today at the Cheyenne Mountain complex. Air Force Chief of Staff General T. Michael Moseley presided.

"This is an important day in Air Force history," General Moseley said during the ceremony. "Offworld intelligence gathering is a vital aspect of our new mission to fly and fight in cyberspace. We need to be ready to defend America from adversaries who may use our own cyberspace technologies against us, or who may develop cyberspace technologies far superior to our own."

During the ceremony, Cyber Command vice commander Maj. Gen. Jack O'Neill presented a new guidon to Stargate Command commander Maj. Gen. Hank Landry. (Lieutenant General Robert Elder, the commander of Cyber Command, had left Earth the day before to study AEF mission requirements for the newly opened Atlantis Air Base.)

"If you think 'cyber' is just about the Internet, you're sorely mistaken," General O'Neill said during his remarks. "Stargate Command has taken the term 'cyberspace' to the very limits of imagination. Physical computer viruses with amazing network interconnectivity? Stargate Command calls them 'replicators.' Powerful laptop batteries? The batteries at Stargate Command have enough 'oomph' to open a portal to another galaxy. Tablet PCs? Stargate Command has a computer that downloads knowledge directly into a person's brain. Computer-enhanced time management? Hey, when I was at Stargate Command, I went back in time and met my commanding officer when he was just a lieutenant. That, my friends, is what cyberspace is all about."

During his remarks, General O'Neill charged General Landry with staying on course, moving the men and women of Stargate Command forward, and continuing the excellence and outstanding results that Stargate Command Airmen always produce.

"I look forward to working with you and your staff," General Landry told General O'Neill in his own remarks. "Our training and readiness are more important today than ever. We are going to prepare new Airmen with a full understanding of what it means to fly and fight in cyberspace. It is no longer just a catchphrase that's tossed around by high-ranking officer bureaucrats who don't even know what it really means."

"I agree that too many people incorrectly believe cyberspace is just about computers, or that it is supposedly a new concept," General Landry continued. "If you think about it, the U.S. military has been using cyberspace technology for 150 years. Abraham Lincoln was the first president to use email, thanks to the invention of the telegraph."

Two former Chiefs of Staff, General (ret.) Michael E. Ryan and General (ret.) John P. Jumper, attended the ceremony as special guests. "Mike [Ryan] and I are big fans of Stargate Command," General Jumper said during his remarks. "As the Chief of Staff, he and I routinely flew to Cheyenne for top secret briefings on Stargate Command's cyberspace mission."

"I've been told that Hollywood is itching to make not one, but two movies about Stargate Command," General Ryan said during his remarks. He drew laughs from the audience when he quipped "it'll be good to finally get over the stigma of those 'Iron Eagle' movies."