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Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, or NAWCTSD
East Orlando Sun, May 21-Jun 17, 2009
Team Orlando
Military boasts large presence in Research Park
by MEGAN STOKES
Staff Writer
Earlier this year the Army's office of simulation and training in
Orlando awarded $17.5 billion in contracts.
A majority of those were likely awarded to local companies within the Central Florida Research Park in East Orlando, where about 1,600 U.S. Department of Defense employees work and 100 defense simulation companies exist.
That money will trickle down to support companies and slowly seep into the local company, making it more rich and resilient.
Team Orlando, the military presence within Research Park, reported that they spend, on average, $5.2 billion in contracts each year to supply soldiers fighting the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan with the training, equipment and technology they need. Their spending alone has a $4.5 billion impact on state gross product and drives $7.8 billion in annual sales activity.
"There is a big pile of money sitting right in the middle of Research Park and a lot of the reason communities like Waterford Lakes and Avalon Park are here is because these workers needed a place to work. This is the economic engine," said Joe Wallace, Research Park executive director.
This money supports 22,536 simulation jobs in the state, up from 16,041 in 2002, and 53,000 workers indirectly, up from 22,500, according to a 2009 economic impact study. These are statewide figures but at least one-third are in Central Florida.
Besides simulation, the military has attracted the optics and photonics industry to create laser missiles, the biotech industry and the digital media industry, said Eric Ushkowitz, Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission director of technology and entertainment.
Memorial Day commemorates U.S. men and women who died while serving their country. Waymon Armstrong remembers these men and women but is also reminded of the men and women he serves each day by creating virtual worlds, games and mobile applications to train soldiers heading into battle and the military's medical first responders at his company, Engineering and Computer Simulation in Research Park.
"People in our direct community know what a jewel [Research Park] is but I do not know if the rest of the community realizes what is being done here," Armstrong said.
"The average salary here is $70,000 to $80,000, we leave a minimal carbon footprint and we give back to the community. I think sometimes Orlando is overshadowed by the tourism industry and it is hard to know what's really out here."
But Russ Hauck, National Center of Simulation executive director, echoed that many East Orlando residents do not realize the great military presence in their own backyards or that virtually every soldier on active duty today has been trained on a device that was designed and purchased here in Orlando.
The trouble is that the rest of the country is well aware of the talent and cash flow within Research Park and that, if given the chance, some cities would try to scoop up all that Wallace has been building for three decades.
The Air Force first made Orlando its home in the early 1960s when they moved to where Baldwin Park is today. Because there was no flight runway on site, they moved the base just west of Orlando International Airport. The Navy transformed the old Air Force base into a training facility, which opened the doors for the Navy Training Device Center, where primitive simulators were being built and used.
But Wallace said it was the opening of Florida Technological University (now the University of Central Florida) in 1968 and the first moon landing in 1969 that sealed East Orlando's fate as the simulation capital.
"The university was working with the Space Coast because NASA programs got so huge, Lockheed Martin and the Navy. So they decided to bring the simulation industry closer to campus and that is how the Research Park was created in 1980," he said.
"We offered the Navy 40 free acres to move their technology people here and seven years later the base closed and it was bulldozed down to become Baldwin Park. Had they not accepted our offer, all of this might not be here."
Local military spending remained under $1 billion, though, until Sept. 11, 2001. After the terrorist attacks Research Park changed dramatically as contract spending shot through the roof.
"We went to war so business went up," Wallace said. "We needed newer and better training systems for our troops. We were fighting a war on terror and the battle still rages on."
Team Orlando soon outgrew the Naval Air Warfare Center and now inhabits about five buildings throughout Research Park, with a workforce of more than 1,600. However, due to post-9/11 security concerns, East Orlando came very close to losing Team Orlando.
Last October new federal standards required that any building housing more than 25 percent DOD employees needed a vehicle-resistant fence to thwart potential terrorist attacks. All five buildings in the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division housed 50 percent or more DOD employees.
"That meant that this $5.3 billion industry that employs tens of thousands of local jobs could go somewhere else and other cities have made offers," Wallace said.
The Florida Legislature granted Research Park $9.1 million to build the vehicle-resistant fence complete with steel ground traps, which is currently underway. But more work must still be done. UCF is currently building two structures to complete a DOD cluster within the fence, but Hauck said at least two more are needed to handle the growth of this industry.
"The defense industry is one of the bright spots in this economy and East Orlando would look dramatically different without it. Even if people do not work for the military, they probably work for a company that works for the military, either directly or indirectly," Ushkowitz said.
"People need to rally around this industry and make sure it stays here. If anything threatens it, we need to write to our legislators and make sure it stays here. The military goes where it is told to go, so it is up to citizens and local leaders to ensure they stay here."
Contact: media@teamorlando.org
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