San Antonio Wins Cyber Sweepstakes

The Air Force has selected Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio as the preferred headquarters for its cyber command, the 24th Air Force, pending an environmental review. The decision really puzzles me.

Lackland received the nod ahead of five other potential bases that were vying for the new cyber HQ, including Barksdale Air Force Base, La.; Langley Air Force Base, Va.; Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.; Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.; and Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Air Force said it selected Lackland for the cyber mission because, among other things, "mission synergy" (whatever that means), which includes proximity to other cyber operational missions and access to scientific and technical expertise as well as communication and bandwidth capabilities and good transportation.

Based on this set of criteria, I'd put Lackland at the bottom of the pile, not the top. Lackland is home of the 37th Training Wing, which runs the Air Force boot camp, and certainly does not offer the "mission synergy" of Peterson, home of the U.S. Northern Command and the Air Force Space Command -- or Offut, HQ of the U.S. Strategic Command.

Langley is the HQ of the Air Combat Command. The Air Mobility Command hangs out at Scott and for more than a year Barksdale has served as the provisional HQ for the cyber command. At a glance, the five losers in the cyber command sweepstakes seem to offer more "mission synergy" than Lackland - which is maybe why it made the cut, because the Air Force intended to spread the warfighting command action around.

As far as communications capabilities go, San Antonio does not immediately jump out as the broadband hub of North America, and I bet Peterson and Scott have higher speed circuits into the Global Information Grid than Lackland.

And it's good that cyber warriors work in over air-conditioned spaces, as San Anotnio gives a new meaning to the word HOT. I spent a week there this February, and the temperatures were in the 80s. Today it's 90 degrees in San Antonio, and the temperature is forecast to hit over 100 next week - and it's not even summer.

That said, San Antonio has one of the best urban cores in the country, built around its River Walk and the nearby Market Square, which makes for a walkable downtown with a European flair.

Cyber warriors can fire themselves up with truly awesome Mexican food at the Mi Tierra restaurant in the square, which stays open 24 hours a day. I suggest they try the chilaquiles famosas. That will prime them to battle hackers around the globe.

Cyber warrior pie fans will be glad to know that the Wimberley Pie Company in (naturally) Wimberley, Texas, is a mere one-hour drive away on some picturesque country roads and serves everything from traditional apple to more exotic buttermilk and peanut butter pies.

If a cyber warrior wants the best green chile cheeseburger in the country, they can find that in San Antonio, not the San Antonio in Texas, but rather the San Antonio in New Mexico. Since this is a 10-hour drive, cyber warriors will have to take a weekend to make a pilgrimage to the famed Owl Bar and Café in the San Antonio, N.M., which serves a chile burger that in its own way also gives a new meaning to HOT.