2/12/2008 — BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, LA. (AFPN) — Air Force Cyberspace Command (AFCYBER) has announced the successful completion of Operation BYTE HAVEN, a Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) that safely evacuated 20,000 Americans after the main firewall guarding cyberspace was breached in multiple locations on 31 January 2008. AFCYBER worked with multiple agencies and commands to ensure the safety of American evacuees.

Air Force historians believe BYTE HAVEN is the first NEO in U.S. military history that required the evacuation of non-essential military personnel from a self-declared USAF "warfighting domain."

Cyberspace firewall sensors indicated multiple cyberspace firewall breaches continued to threaten Americans around the world from 1-4 February 2008. Joint Task Force BYTE HAVEN (JTF-BH), under the operational control of AFCYBER, a first for the USAF Expeditionary Headquarters, evacuated the first 2,400 Americans from the most insecure cyberspace cafés and chat rooms on 1 February.

AFCYBER remotely directed the successful employment of KC-135 tankers, C-130 transports, AC-130 gun ships, and MH-53 helicopters used throughout the extensive operations. The last remaining American cyberspace refugees were evacuated on 5 February.

Citing operational security (OPSEC) as a concern, AFCYBER officials responsible for the defense of cyberspace did not offer an explanation for the breaches that prompted the first known NEO of Americans from cyberspace.