[Infowarrior] - AF CyberCommand to be located in Texas

[Richard Forno]

Friday, May 15, 2009 · Last updated 8:16 a.m. PT

Texas to be home of Air Force cyber command

http://www2.seattlepi.com/articles/406253.html

By GARY MARTIN
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

WASHINGTON -- Lackland AFB in San Antonio is being selected by Air  
Force officials as the headquarters for a new cyber command, an  
official close to the selection process said late Thursday.

The Air Force is expected to make the selection official today, but  
lawmakers representing states and cities with potential sites were  
being notified in advance of the announcement.

Lackland was selected by the Air Force as the best of several other  
candidates for the headquarters, which would mean an influx of  
infrastructure, security and 400 staffers.

The headquarters will include the commander's staff and an operations  
center.

The operations primarily will focus on defending Air Force computers  
against cyber attack and preventing computer disruptions.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said selecting Lackland was "great  
news for San Antonio."

Hutchison said Lackland "and its dedicated military personnel have the  
unique and varied attributes that made it the obvious choice."

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said he was surprised to hear Lackland  
was selected, because a Louisiana site was considered the front-runner.

"This is a good surprise," Wolff said, adding that it comes on the  
heels of last week's announcement that Medtronic Diabetes Therapy  
Management and Education Center is moving to San Antonio and will hire  
1,400 workers over five years.

The selected site for the cyber command now must undergo an  
environmental impact assessment.

A final announcement of where to place the command will come later  
this summer, after the assessment is conducted, said Carla Pampe, a  
spokeswoman for the command in Louisiana.

Alternative sites also will be announced, should the finalist site be  
eliminated by the environmental impact assessment.

The temporary location of the command is at Barksdale AFB in  
Shreveport, La. The Louisiana base was one of six finalists.

Other potential sites were Langley AFB, Va.; Offut AFB, Neb.; Peterson  
AFB, Colo.; and Scott AFB, Ill.

Hutchison and Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, led efforts to  
sway Air Force officials to locate the command at Lackland, where  
existing missions are located.

When Lackland was named a finalist in January, Gonzalez said the Air  
Force base was "well-positioned" to get the command because of  
existing work there.

Lackland is home to the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance  
Agency, the Cryptologic Systems Group, the 67th Network Warfare Wing,  
the Information Operation Center and the Join Operation Warfare Command.

In addition, the University of Texas at San Antonio has cyber-related  
research, and the National Security Agency's Texas Cryptologic Center  
is in San Antonio.

Wolff said landing the command at Lackland also would boost local  
efforts to get "more jobs here with NSA."

"This is a positive step toward that effort," Wolff said.

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez agreed, saying, "The Air Force cyber center is a  
major component of security, but it also will have some other  
components for the private sector, which will trigger other forms of  
jobs."

Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, said the command would be a "a good  
incubator" for business.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and the entire Texas congressional  
delegation signed onto a letter urging the Air Force to put the  
command in San Antonio.

And Hutchison, the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations  
subcommittee on military construction and military affairs, touted San  
Antonio as the location for the center in a March meeting with Air  
Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz.

In the selection process, the Air Force considered factors that  
included existing cyber activities, network capabilities,  
infrastructure and security.

San Antonio demonstrated it had the networks and infrastructure to  
become a national center for cyber security, Hutchison said.

Hutchison said she would work with Congress, the Air Force and San  
Antonio leaders to "ensure a smooth and efficient transition process  
so we can stand up this critical new command as quickly as possible."

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