BAFB Makes Short Lists

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Shreveport Times
January 22, 2009
Pg. 1

Base still eyed for Global Strike, cyber operations.
By John Andrew Prime
As expected, Barksdale Air Force Base appears on short lists the Pentagon released Wednesday of military sites under consideration to be headquarters of the new Global Strike Command and 24th Air Force.
In addition to Barksdale, the candidate Air Force bases for the 24th Air Force headquarters are Lackland in Texas, Langley in Virginia, Offutt in Nebraska, Peterson in Colorado and Scott in Illinois.
The list of Air Force base candidates for Global Strike Command headquarters also includes F.E. Warren in Wyoming, Malmstrom in Montana, Minot in North Dakota, Offutt in Nebraska and Whiteman in Missouri.
The final basing decision will be made through a measured and deliberate process for the best possible outcome for national defense and compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, said Kevin Billings, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics.
For 24th Air Force, officials will consider proximity to other cyber operational missions and access to scientific and technical expertise, as well as communication and bandwidth capabilities. Other evaluation criteria include facilities and infrastructure, support capacity, security and transportation/access. These first two factors determined Wednesday's final candidate basing list.
"In basing 24th Air Force, we recognize the tremendous preparatory work several states have already done and we intend to use much of that information," said Brig. Gen. Mark Schissler, Air Force cyber operations director. "But the mission will ultimately define the final location."
For Global Strike Command, the most important criteria will be "current performance of a significant operational function associated with strategic nuclear forces," the Air Force says.
"The principal focus of the new command will be on our nuclear deterrence mission and ensuring the day-to-day excellence demanded by this mission," said Maj. Gen. C. Donald Alston, assistant chief of staff, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration. "Co-locating the headquarters on an installation where there are significant operational functions associated with nuclear forces will provide positive synergies for this new command."
Air Force officials now will evaluate each of the six bases against the same set of criteria. The criteria include synergy with the command's nuclear mission, including availability of requisite expertise, facilities and infrastructure, support capacity, transportation and access, communications and bandwidth, and security to support the new headquarters.
The Air Force intends to make the final base selections by no later than the end of June. Barksdale has long been a favorite with industry sorts for the cyber role and has been home since the start for the gestational Cyber Command. But in the fall, the cyber work was put on a back burner while the Air Force turned its attention to the nuclear mission, where a series of missteps involving the transfers of nuclear weapons components revealed organizational weakness in the missile and bomber areas.
Plans for a full-fledged command were pared down to a numbered air force that will operate under Air Force Space Command.
That also was when Air Force leaders announced the formation of Global Strike Command to bring the service's strategic bomber and mission forces under one command that would come under U.S. Strategic Command.
Speaking Wednesday to members of the Cyber Innovation Center at its monthly luncheon at Harrah's Louisiana Downs in Bossier City just hours before the Pentagon's announcement, Maj. Gen. Bill Lord, commander of the provisional Air Force Cyber Command, said he will brief the Air Force chief of staff of cyber matters next week.
"He's gathering all the four-star (generals) and wants to have a cyber summit," Lord said, noting he would have just less than three hours to share all he knows on the subject.
"The senior leadership in our Air Force 'gets it.' And they're beginning to provide the resources, the manpower, the policies that come with 'getting it.'"
Louisiana's federal elected officials get it, as well, and are pushing hard for the local base to be the prize.
"These twin announcements bring welcome news to Barksdale and all of northwest Louisiana, which has long been working to bring a major command to the region," U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, the state's senior solon and a Democrat poised to play a key role in Senate military matters, said. "Barksdale is in the best position to host the Global Strike Command and the 24th Air Force under consideration."
She pointed out the base's strengths, including its size. "Barksdale is one of the largest bases in the nation, comprising more than 22,000 square acres. Most of this land is undeveloped and available for expansion."
A base planning study issued in the 1980s explored a number of uses for Barksdale, including a new industrial campus east of the existing runway and even creating a runway parallel to the existing one, which would guarantee the base's utility with future generations of bombers yet unbuilt.
David Vitter, the state's Republican senator, also was enthused. "Barksdale is such an important part of northwest Louisiana, and these programs would only increase that presence both economically and militarily.
"It is exciting to see Barksdale as a leader in 21st-century warfare. ... I look forward to working with local officials and the Air Force to continue to capitalize on Barksdale's strengths," said Vitter, a new member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Barksdale's inclusion was welcome news to new 4th District U.S. Rep. John Fleming. "I am confident we are prepared to show the Air Force why Barksdale is well suited to be the permanent headquarters for these missions.
"The assets of our region give us a solid base as to why we should be chosen," the Minden Republican said. "Both missions are important for the economy of northwest Louisiana, will create jobs and ensure Barksdale will remain a critical installation for the United States military.
"Securing these missions will be a tough competition, but I know we are up to the challenge of proving why Shreveport-Bossier should be home to this major command and the 24th Air Force."
Cash infusion
Cyber Innovation Center, whose flagship building is quickly rising in Bossier Parish just north of Barksdale Air Force Base, got a healthy infusion of cash and confidence Wednesday. Just before its monthly member luncheon at Harrah's Louisiana Downs, the Bossier City center's latest founding member, CICSO Systems, donated $400,000 to help build a laboratory that would let tenants at the center and its affiliated National Cyber Research Park simulate the environment of Air Force labs.
 
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