BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) - All 16 members of Michigan’s congressional delegation are asking the Department of Defense to locate a Cyber Operations Squadron at the Air National Guard base in Battle Creek.
The delegation says the 110th Attack Wing already has much of the infrastructure required to help lead the military cyber security initiative.
Michigan’s members of Congress wrote a letter to Defense Department leaders last week.
“Cybersecurity threats are one of the greatest national security challenges we face today,” said the letter, sent on Wednesday. “Our future as a nation depends upon a reliable cyberspace for infrastructure, commerce, communications, and government at every level. To counter those determined to cause harm, it is crucial that America has a Cyber Mission Force that can strengthen and rigorously protect this critical infrastructure.”
Michigan has 22 universities and colleges offering degrees in cyber security, including five designated as National Security Agency Centers of Excellence, the lawmakers said.
The Battle Creek site’s “unique location and capabilities would enable (the project) to fulfill its mission at a significant cost savings compared to bases without the same existing infrastructure,” the lawmakers said. They said the cost saving would be about $2.2 million.
The letter was addressed to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and other military leaders.
Other states and their congressional delegations also have been lobbying for the opportunity to host the squadron.
Democratic U.S. Senators Mark Warner and other Virginia lawmakers wrote the Pentagon to urge that the project go Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Their argument was similar to that of their Michigan colleagues.
“Locating this squadron at (the Virginia base) will deliver significant capability for the Air Force and leverage existing infrastructure to provide a low-cost solution,” The Virginians said.
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Details: https://1.usa.gov/1FCOBgt
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