SDMAC commissions an annual economic impact study to demonstrate the significant benefits of defense-related spending and military presence in the San Diego region. During the event, Pope highlighted NAVWAR as one of the Navy’s major acquisition commands with an expertise in information warfare technology and its substantial economic impact during fiscal year (FY) 2020.
NAVWAR influences San Diego’s economy through seven channels including: contracts awarded to regional businesses, command employees, operations and maintenance spending, command-related tourism, patents, government purchase card payments, and contributions in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
In FY 2020, NAVWAR contributed more than 29,000 jobs throughout the San Diego region and directly employed more than 5,600 people, with about 270 military workers and 5,300 civilian employees. Their combined compensation, including wages and benefits, totaled more than $900 million. Of these employees, many are highly educated with more than four-fifths of them holding at least a four-year college degree, and about two-fifths holding Master’s or Doctorate degrees.
“We have a long history with San Diego, as the region has been a strong partner in executing our mission of delivering and sustaining information warfare capabilities for the fleet and our partners around the world,” said Pope. “This relationship is ideal for both the region and the command. With nearly half of our workforce positioned in the San Diego area, we are able to leverage many of the region’s unique advantages including its close proximity to operational forces, training ranges, high-tech industry and world-class universities.”
This mutually beneficial relationship can be demonstrated by the Navy Old Town Campus Revitalization Project, in which the Navy is working alongside supporting partners and advocates throughout the San Diego region to provide the command with new, modern and secure facilities to support its rapidly expanding, critical cybersecurity mission.
"Our mission is growing with an ever-increasing focus on speed and agility to field capabilities faster to pace our adversaries and maintain advantage in the information domain,” said Pope.
This potential redevelopment would bring tremendous economic benefits to the region through the construction and operation of new commercial, military, residential and transportation facilities.
Another example of partnerships within the region is NAVWAR’s continued involvement with the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE), demonstrating the command’s strong commitment and contribution to cybersecurity, as well as the importance of partnering with industry to better support the mission. NAVWAR is working alongside the CCOE on a number of initiatives to strengthen the diversity and inclusivity in the cyber talent pipeline, including CyberHireSD and the Underrepresented in Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program.
San Diego is home to more than 870 cyber firms and 12,400 cyber professionals that generate an annual economic impact of $3.5 billion, a 15% increase since a 2019 cyber industry study. NAVWAR directly employs a third of all cybersecurity workers in San Diego and its presence is a contributing factor for many cyber companies to remain located in the region.
Moving forward, NAVWAR will continue to partner with the city of San Diego, and support SDMAC’s mission of facilitating and advancing the partnership between the military, elected officials, civic leaders and the business community to enhance the understanding of the military’s many contributions to the San Diego region.
About NAVWAR:
NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 active duty military and civil service professionals located around the world.