The Milwaukee CYBER "Pentagon"
Susan Bence
While situated on nearly 600 acers of land, the Pentagon in Arlington, VA actually only occupies 29 acers of land. Milwaukee has a long and proud history in Air Power with our very own Major General Billy Mitchell widely regarded as one of the, if not the, founder of the modern concept of Air Power in the Army Air Corps that eventually turned into the United States Air Force. I propose donating the 45 acer plot at 3940 N 35th Street, which is already undergoing EPA certified cleanup efforts under a $2M federal grant, to the USAF as an operations center for the 16th Air Force.
Today's USAF is as much about Air Power as Cyber Power - in 2008, a brilliant, then Brigadier General, William T. Lord - who I served under while he commanded the 81st Training Wing at Keesler AFB (and met on two occasions) penned the concept of Cyberspace Command (or CYBERCOM) in his paper "To Fly and Fight in Cyberspace". He was promoted to Major General and given a provisional Major Command - USAF CYBERCOM in 2009.
In 2010 DoD realigned their priorities taking CYBERCOM away from the USAF and creating a US CYBERCOM with the Commander also holding the title of the Director of the NSA. USAF CYBERCOM ended up largely moving into a numbered Air Force which was then in 2020 reorganized into the 16th Air Force (AFCyber) whose mission is C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers - Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance).
Specifically I propose a "Pentagon-esque" Parallelogram containing Active Duty and Reserve personnel in the cyber-fields as well as DoD Civilians as well as communications infrastructure. This would not only provide a major influx of capital and talented, well disciplined people to the City of Milwaukee but would provide civilian jobs both during - and after - construction.
A 10-story structure would be capable of housing around 2,500 personnel and position Milwaukee a major defense hub.
1 | An apt historical parallel
- Footprint vs. reservation. The Pentagon sits on a 583-acre reservation in Arlington, yet its five-ring structure occupies only ~29 acres of ground. (livescience.com)
- Milwaukee’s aviation heritage. Native son Maj. Gen. Billy Mitchell championed air power inside the Army Air Corps and is widely credited as the intellectual father of today’s independent U.S. Air Force. Locating a next-generation headquarters here would reconnect the service to those roots.
2 | Why the 3940 N 35th Street site works
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scale & geometry | 45 acres—large enough to echo the Pentagon model (secure standoff, parking, utility yard) while keeping the primary building footprint to ~29 acres. |
| Brownfield ready | The city has already secured a $2 million EPA cleanup grant for the parcel, cutting early site-prep risk and cost. (city.milwaukee.gov) |
| Central U.S. location | One-hop fiber reach to Chicago internet hubs, KC-135 aerial refueling wing at General Mitchell ANGB, and an F-35 fighter wing at Truax Field—all within 80 minutes’ flight. |
| Security & resiliency | Proximity to Lake Michigan water and regional power redundancy; distance from coastal threat axes; rail and interstate access for rapid materiel flow. |
3 | Mission fit for the 16th Air Force
- C4ISR & Cyber integration. The 2020 realignment combined the former 24th AF (cyber) and 25th AF (ISR) into a single numbered air force charged with information warfare at global scale. (af.mil, airandspaceforces.com)
- Facility concept. A four-sided “Parallelogram-Pentagon”: 10 stories, ~750 k ft² usable space, hardened for SCIF, network ops, and joint coalition cells around a secure central courtyard.
- Capacity. Modern classified-office planning factors (≈ 200–300 ft²/person) yield accommodation for 2,500 – 3,500 Airmen, DoD civilians, and contractors—the sweet spot for a numbered-air-force HQ plus reserve and training detachments.
4 | Economic & civic upside
| Benefit | Impact |
|---|---|
| Construction surge | Multi-year $700 M–$1 B design-build program, >3,000 prevailing-wage trade jobs. |
| Permanent payroll | $250 M+ annual salaries injected into city economy (based on 2,800 billets, GS-12/E-6 avg). |
| Supplier ecosystem | Cyber ranges, fiber build-outs, MIL-STD facility maintenance—opportunities for local and minority-owned firms. |
| STEM pipeline | Direct internships and hiring pipelines with UW-Milwaukee, MSOE, Marquette, MATC and regional HBCUs; magnet for cyber-security talent that keeps graduates in-state. |
| Neighborhood revival | Adds 24/7 security presence, stimulates retail and housing on Milwaukee’s north side, dovetailing with Century City TIF redevelopment goals. |
5 | Strategic rationale for DoD
- Cost efficiency – Milwaukee real-estate and labor rates are dramatically lower than NOVA or Colorado Springs, stretching MILCON dollars.
- Geodispersion – Places critical cyber & ISR nodes away from crowded coastal targets, enhancing national resilience.
- Joint synergy – Sits between Great Lakes Naval, Army Reserve at Fort McCoy, and the National Guard’s 128th ARW and 115th FW—ideal for cross-domain exercises.
- Political momentum – The city’s offer of no-cost land conveyance plus pre-funded environmental remediation shortens the congressional authorization runway.
6 | Next steps
- City Council & RACM resolution authorizing conveyance of the cleaned parcel to the Air Force under a long-term federal lease or title transfer.
- DoD site-activation task force to validate force-protection, utilities, and airspace coordination.
- MILCON line-item and P-341 planning funds in the FY-27 NDAA; design-build RFP in FY-28; initial occupancy target FY-32.
- Community partnership office to align workforce training, veteran housing, and local small-business contracting goals.
➜ Bottom line
Donating the cleaned 45-acre Century City parcel positions Milwaukee to host a state-of-the-art C4ISR campus, honors its aviation legacy, and injects billions into the regional economy—while giving the 16th Air Force the resilient, purpose-built home it needs for 21st-century information warfare.
