In this series, Clearance Jobs will take a look at booming “spy cities” across the country and around the world—cities that have seen massive growth as hubs for intelligence agencies and activities.
Let’s say you want to move to a spy city other than Virginia and Maryland. (Perhaps you had a bad experience there, or unpaid parking tickets. Be sure to report them on your SF-86!) Where can you find a job that takes advantage of your clearance? As we’ve covered previously, there’s Sierra Vista. There’s St. Louis. San Antonio goes without saying. But suppose what you really want is to fight a cyberwar by day and drink on the beach at night. Well have I got a spy city for you.
Here are the things that Pensacola, Florida is known for: the white sand of Navarre Beach. Spring Break. Multiple references in Jimmy Buffett songs. A marathon with mind-blowing scenery. Jaws 2 (it was filmed there, anyway). The Blue Angels. Spring Break. Here is what Pensacola is not known for: cyber warfare. And yet history might one day remember the city’s cyber role long after the lyrics to Margaritaville are forgotten.
pENSACOLA: MORE THAN MARGARITAVILLE
According to the Smithsonian, Pensacola holds the distinction of being the oldest European settlement in the United States. The explorer who first landed there was Tristán de Luna of Spain. “Pensacola doesn’t sound like a Spanish word!” you might protest, and you’d be right. The native tribe called the area “Panzacola,” or: “long-haired people.” The name stuck. The various wars, treaties, skirmishes, and purchases have resulted in five countries at one point or another having flown its flag over Pensacola: Great Britain, Spain, France, the Confederate States of America, the United States of America.
Here is how Pensacola became a spy city. For obvious reasons (a perfect, natural harbor for one), the U.S. Navy has long had a keen interest in the area. President John Quincy Adams ordered the construction of a naval yard there in 1825. A century later, on the very same site, the Navy established what would become the first Naval Air Station. If you’re an aviator in the Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps, your first stop was probably here. Likewise U.S. Air Force combat systems officers. Among NAS-Pensacola’s alumni are John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, so if you’re stationed there and reading this, know that you have some pretty big space boots to fill.
When it came time to found a new high tech cryptography center, Pensacola was chosen in part because of the preexisting Navy presence and the accompanying support infrastructure. The Naval Security Group Activity-Pensacola, as it was called, was responsible for all areas of naval software development and deployment, and even fielded help-desk support. Later the site took up the task of hardening the Navy’s computer networks. In 2005, the Navy Security Group Activity became part of Naval Network Warfare Command, whose abbreviation is the futuristic, hair-raising NETWARCOM. The activity itself, now also responsible for network operations and intelligence, was renamed Navy Information Operations Command. Today it is part of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and exists on the front lines of cyberwar.
Also located in Pensacola is the Navy’s Center for Information Dominance. According to the CID website, their mission is “to deliver full spectrum Cyber Information Warfare, and Intelligence Training to achieve decision superiority.” This is done by providing the fleet with “optimally trained Sea and Joint Force Warriors who will create a tactical advantage for mission success in the information domain. To this end, CID’s mission is to deliver the right training, at the right time and place, utilizing technology, innovation, and science of learning.”
In other words, this is a Navy town with some serious computing history and a thriving electronic intelligence and cyberwar capability.
CAREERS: CRYPTOLOGY TO INFORMATION DOMINANCE
As we’ve discussed in previous installments of this series, where there’s a spy city there are jobs in need of cleared professionals. Pensacola is no exception. As should be expected, the jobs are cyber-intensive. Among those hiring in the city are CSC and Exelis. Jobs available include cyber operations instructors and security specialists. Northrop Grumman, which has outposts in every spy city, it seems, is hiring for such positions as cyber information assurance analyst and both Linux and Windows cyber systems administrators. The company is also collecting resumes for cyber systems engineer positions, which suggests that demand is only going to grow. To give some idea of the magnitude of that expected growth, consider that Pensacola State College now offers a cyber-forensics degree. Once cleared, each student in his or her final semester is paired with a law enforcement agency to do the job of finding and acquiring electronic evidence for use in legal proceedings.
why make a move to pensacola
It’s hard to imagine one needs reasons to live in Pensacola. If the beach doesn’t sell the city, nothing will. Still, some key facts: the median household income is below that of Florida as a whole, but the lower housing prices and cost of living balance that out. Unemployment and crime are right at the Florida average. There’s no spinning the quality of the schools. The reports are not good. If you have children and are considering the move, that’s something to consider.
If you’re up for the move, however, you will be relocating to a city with a rich multicultural heritage and a keen eye toward the future. There is a lovely dichotomy of the oldest European settlement in the United States waging the newest war on an unmarked virtual battlefield. Similarly, consider the natural wonder of a Florida sunset over the engineering marvel of computing clusters. With this mix of nature and steel, and serenity and exhilaration, Pensacola is the city we know for Spring Break, yes, but also the “cradle of Naval aviation” and a launch point of American electronic espionage.
