LANSING - Today Senator Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) advocated for the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base (BCANGB) to become the location for a new Air Force Cyber Command unit. Bringing the unit to Michigan would create new high-tech military jobs in the Battle Creek area.

“The Battle Creek Air National Guard Base is an ideal location for the high-tech operations of a Cyber Command unit,” said Schauer. “The base is well-equipped to meet a Cyber Command unit’s demanding security and technology needs, and with Battle Creek’s existing designation as an Aviation and e-Learning SmartZone, we already have essential infrastructure and collaborations in place between technology-based industries, research institutions, government and other community institutions.”

Air Force Cyber Command is at the core of a comprehensive national cyber security initiative to provide and enhance the United States’ offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, and protect the U.S. information infrastructure, including telecommunications and computer networks and systems. For more information about Air Force Cyber Command, visit http://www.afcyber.af.mil/.

Schauer sent letters this morning to United States Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and to Assistant Secretary of the Air Force William C. Anderson recommending Battle Creek as a host location for a new Cyber Command unit. The Air Force expects to publicly announce its short-list of preferred locations for Cyber Command units by mid-November 2008.

Schauer has been an advocate for the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base and the men and women who work and serve there throughout his legislative career. He has traveled to St. Louis, MO and Washington, D.C. to testify on the importance of keeping the Battle Creek base open, hosted national military officials to urge continued support, and worked with Governor Jennifer Granholm and Senator Carl Levin to secure additional missions to help keep the base active.

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