AF Command Center in Shreveport/Bossier

[Brian96]

They need to put this in Shreveport, not Bossier. They need to do an eminent-domain thing on the LSUS campus and put the Command Center there. That would be a true win-win for Tech.

Seriously, though, this does not necessarily mean good news for Tech. Unless we start strategically and intensively pursuing the Shreveport market, making Shreveport/Bossier Tech's hometown, then we will never gain any sort of meaningful national prominence. A university without a strong base in a growing metropolis (and/or a ridiculously large endowment) will soon be irrelevant. And I'm not even talking about sports here.

Rather than benefit Tech, this Command Center is more likely to result in huge growth for LSUS, particularly in the realm of graduate programs. And every graduate program LSUS gets is one more nail in Tech's coffin.

[9701Dawg]

They need to put this in Shreveport, not Bossier. They need to do an eminent-domain thing on the LSUS campus and put the Command Center there. That would be a true win-win for Tech.

Seriously, though, this does not necessarily mean good news for Tech. Unless we start strategically and intensively pursuing the Shreveport market, making Shreveport/Bossier Tech's hometown, then we will never gain any sort of meaningful national prominence. A university without a strong base in a growing metropolis (and/or a ridiculously large endowment) will soon be irrelevant. And I'm not even talking about sports here.

Rather than benefit Tech, this Command Center is more likely to result in huge growth for LSUS, particularly in the realm of graduate programs. And every graduate program LSUS gets is one more nail in Tech's coffin.

Tech already will have a stake in this. I think they are planning to build a 8 mil+ facility if this passes.

http://landrieu.senate.gov/~landrieu...007524E58.html

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...0322/1002/NEWS

[Louisiana Tech University plans to establish an $8 million "Cyber-centric Sensor Surveillance System Center of Excellence," said Les Guice, the Ruston school's vice president for research and development.
"We will hire several new faculty, post-doctoral and graduate students to support this research," Guice wrote to local planners. "At Louisiana Tech, we will hire faculty who can support the Cyber Command, and I will encourage other universities to work with us in supporting the Cyber Command."
And former NASA director Sean O'Keefe, now chancellor of LSU, pledged his school's support.]

[WWDog]

I hope Bossier City and Tech have their ducks lined up for this so that Tech can benefit. There is some stiff competition that has a lot of history in this field. Some of the disciplines required for Info Ops are not found in many universities, even technical universities. My specialty was in Electronic Warfare which is a part of Info Ops. My master’s degree to support that discipline came from the Naval Postgraduate School which was the only school to offer a degree of that type in the world. Some of the other disciplines are completely foreign to that used in electronic warfare such as Psychological Operations. Each of the parts of Info Ops has its own quirky community due to the unique skills needed. Yet Info Ops tries to pull all of it together to affect the adversary and protect ourselves at the same time. It also involves being able to see a very big (strategic) picture yet understand how very detailed and technical events affect that big picture. So, it will take more than a strong EE and Computer Science Department to make an impact. I have known more than a few Tech grads to have impact in this field though.

[GonzoDawg]

I assume that our relationship with Barksdale would help us have a foot in the door. I'm trying not to get my hopes too high because the ripple effect in the business world in BC would be huge.

[9701Dawg]

I don't know if this is related to the cyber command center or not, but:

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...GNEWS/70615009

and there is this: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...GNEWS/70615013

[saltydawg]

I assume that our relationship with Barksdale would help us have a foot in the door. I'm trying not to get my hopes too high because the ripple effect in the business world in BC would be huge.

I sure hope the BC metroplex gets the Cyber-command center. Huge economic impact and it would bring in a lot of fresh blood to the area.

[WWDog]

I just met a new neighbor yesterday. He is the head of the new cyber protect department of UTSA. Just some info on what I am seeing here in San Antonio. There are a bunch of people with that experience here and the community is growing evidenced by the department at UTSA. Tech will need to begin similar programs if the center goes to BAFB.

[GonzoDawg]

I sure hope the BC metroplex gets the Cyber-command center. Huge economic impact and it would bring in a lot of fresh blood to the area.

It would be huge for all of us. The ripple effect would be enormous.

[9701Dawg]

Update: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...0332/1002/NEWS

[WWDog]

The one comment on the article was spot on. Tech needs to be heavily involved with this. I have worked in this field and related areas for a while and continuing education in essential to the work force. If anyone has the forward thinking required for this area, it is at Tech. A few of the contractors mentioned in the article have some expertise in the field, but the government workforce that makes up the core of the effort must have extensive knowledge in fields that aren't found in normal university curricula.

[WWDog]

San Antonio Express News had an article on the subject yesterday. I have posted the link below. It may shed some light from an opposing camp for those interested at Tech, Barksdale, and Bossier City.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met...d.33f676b.html

S.A. vying for 'Net warriors

Web Posted: 08/03/2007 10:54 PM CDT

Gary Martin
Express-News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Texas officials are pitching San Antonio as a location for the new Air Force Cyberspace Command, whose mission is to secure communications and data systems within the military branch.
San Antonio, and its military bases and research facilities, is one of four locations seeking the command, which was created in November.

Other sites are in Louisiana, California and Nebraska.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, told Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne that resources and related cyberspace activities in San Antonio make it a prime location "to support this mission."

The Texas effort to land the command, which is expected to employ several hundred Air Force personnel, trails that of other states.

But Bill Mock, a retired Air Force chief of staff of the former Air Intelligence Command at Lackland, said San Antonio's bid wouldn't be hampered by its late entry into the competition.

"The exact requirements have not been defined," said Mock, now a senior vice president with the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

The mission is under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Robert Elder Jr., who's based at Barksdale AFB, one of the sites under consideration.

Louisiana lawmakers are lobbying strongly to have the Cyberspace Command located at Barksdale, near Shreveport.

California is seeking the mission at Beale AFB, near Yuba City, and Nebraska has proposed locating the facility at Offutt AFB near Omaha.

Texas has not offered a specific location, but Joe Krier, with the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, said facilities at Lackland AFB or the adjacent Port San Antonio were possible sites.

San Antonio already is home to National Security Agency's Texas Cryptologic Center; the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency; the Air Force 67th Network Warfare Wing; the Air Force Information Operations Center; and numerous research activities conducted by private contractors and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Microsoft this week broke ground on a $550 million data center, and has expansion plans that could bring its investment in San Antonio to $1 billion.

"This is a big opportunity for us," Krier said. "It is a natural."

San Antonio business leaders said the biggest boost for the city could be a spinoff of lucrative federal contracts that would provide even more jobs in the private sector in the growing field of data and communications security.

The Air Force is in the initial phase of developing criteria to determine where the Cyberspace Command will be located, said Ed Gulick, an Air Force spokesman at the Pentagon.

The decision will be made by Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff and a Texas A&M graduate.

That decision could come this year.

A firm timeline for the decision and the number of personnel at the command headquarters haven't been finalized, said Capt. Rob Goza, director of the 8th Air Force at Barksdale in Louisiana.

The Texas delegation, in a July 28 letter to Wynne, said the state and San Antonio would provide educational and career opportunities for the Air Force personnel who would staff the new command.

"The real beneficiary would be the Air Force," said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, whose congressional district includes Lackland.

Gonzalez and other lawmakers have met with Air Force officials about the strengths of Lackland, and surrounding facilities, to house the new command.

Those local Air Force officials include Lt. Gen. David Deptula, the deputy chief of staff for Air Force intelligence; Brig. Gen. Darrell Jones, who heads the 37th Training Wing; and Col. Joseph Pridotkas with the 67th Network Warfare Wing.

Texas congressional delegation members who signed the letter to Wynne include Hutchison; Gonzalez; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio; Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo; and Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio.

The cornerstone of the Cyberspace Command would include missions already under the 8th Air Force, including command and control, electronic warfare, Internet warfare and surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

"Cyberspace is a key mission for us," Elder said. "Our nation's dependence on the electromagnetic-spectrum continues to grow and we must ensure cyberspace dominance well into the future."

Earlier this year, Elder issued a warning that foreign countries were probing U.S. military systems to find vulnerability.

He cited China as one country that has overtly tested the systems.

Air Force officials said the new command would be staffed with personnel recruited for the skills and education in data security and communication systems.

Krier said San Antonio would offer expertise in the field.

"With NSA in San Antonio, and Microsoft in San Antonio, they will have a lot of personnel who know that business," Krier said.

[firedog]

San Antonio already is home to National Security Agency's Texas Cryptologic Center; the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency; the Air Force 67th Network Warfare Wing; the Air Force Information Operations Center; and numerous research activities conducted by private contractors and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

I think it would be stupid to put it in San Antonio. Why put all of our eggs in one basket(city)???

[WWDog]

firedog

If you are referring to physical location and the threat of a physical attack, then you are quite right. On the other hand, the expertise needed to make these types of units work gains a lot by being located close together. Include several other entities in San Antonio such as the large and growing data centers in San Antonio and the Joint Information Operations Center and you have a mix of people that is quite attractive to man the center. Tech could be something to try to balance the expertise needed. I have worked with several fellow Tech grads in this general field and know that Tech has a lot to offer as an inducement. Bossier City has a head start in pushing for the center but I don’t know if they are using Tech’s potential to counter the large technical expertise in San Antonio. If Bossier City isn’t, then their plan is lacking!

[firedog]

firedog

If you are referring to physical location and the threat of a physical attack, then you are quite right. On the other hand, the expertise needed to make these types of units work gains a lot by being located close together. Include several other entities in San Antonio such as the large and growing data centers in San Antonio and the Joint Information Operations Center and you have a mix of people that is quite attractive to man the center. Tech could be something to try to balance the expertise needed. I have worked with several fellow Tech grads in this general field and know that Tech has a lot to offer as an inducement. Bossier City has a head start in pushing for the center but I don’t know if they are using Tech’s potential to counter the large technical expertise in San Antonio. If Bossier City isn’t, then their plan is lacking!

I am referring to the first. The second that you speak of is great. It makes sense...untill you look at the first.

Here is something Tech is doing that is probably related to it.
http://www.ltadm.latech.edu/vpadmaff/vacan1360.htm

[MattB]

Man, I thought this was a done deal, and expected the word to get out weeks ago. I was wrong. I still think we get it, but it is taking alot longer than I was told it would.