New cyber security unit going to Texas, not Louisiana

The Air Force has chosen Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio for a new cyber security and defense command. Air Force officials made no official announcement Thursday but were expected to do so today. The cyber warfare command will employ about 400 people, including the commander’s staff and an around-the-clock operations center. The operations center will focus on defending Air Force networks against attacks and conduct some offensive operations. Lackland, which already conducts all Air Force basic training, beat out five other bases considered for the new cyber command, including Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport. Barksdale, which had been in the running for the new numbered air force as well, has since been selected as the preferred location for a larger unit, Global Strike Command, the creation of which was the cause of the cyber unit being diminished, the Shreveport Times reports. Global Strike Command, which could begin operations at Barksdale as soon as this fall, is expected to hire about 900 people.