At least temporarily, the US Air Force's plans for its Cyber Command (AFCYBER) are on hold. News of this comes via NextGov, which obtained an internal Air Force email that in part reads, "Transfers of manpower and resources, including activation and reassignment of units, shall be halted."

The AFCYBER unit, which the Air Force hoped would be at the forefront of America's offensive and defensive cyber arsenal, was to become an active unit on October 1 this year. In fact, as of 8/14, on the AFCYBER website there was still a ticker counting down to this date.

Update (8/20): Sometime in the last several days, the Air Force removed the stand-up countdown ticker on the AFCYBER website.

This is a major development for the Air Force, and a potentially terminal setback for a provisional unit that has been moving full steam ahead since November 2006 when its creation was announced. Even as late as August 1, AFCYBER had named a new vice commander and the command chief.

However, given an often blurry mission, delays in choosing a home base for the unit, all the other problems the Air Force has suffered in the last year, and a new Air Force Chief of Staff being sworn in on August 12, the Air Force's newest major command was bound to come under intense scrutiny.