Massachusetts Lobbies for Cyber Command:

Joining the list of 14 other states that the Air Force acknowledges have come forward expressing their own interest, Massachusetts is vying to host the permanent headquarters for USAF’s Cyber Command. WickedLocal.com, web site of the Lincoln Journal, reported March 19 that the New England state is lobbying for the Air Force to choose Hanscom Air Force Base, already the home of Air Force Materiel Command’s Electronic Systems Center, as AFCYBER’s home. “It is my job to tell the Air Force our ability to absorb the mission, and I think we can do it,” Col. Thomas Schluckebier, commander of Hanscom’s 66th Air Base Wing, told WickedLocal.com. The Air Force would like to name the permanent headquarters by the end of the year, although some senior officials have said this date may slip. The command has been operating on a provisional basis since September 2007 from Barksdale AFB, La. Initial operational standup of the command will occur on Oct. 1, with Barksdale continuing to serve as the interim host until USAF selects the permanent location. The Air Force isn’t saying specifically which sites it is considering. But along with Massachusetts, it acknowledges that Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and Virginia have “expressed interest in hosting the headquarters or some other unit associated,” USAF spokesman Ed Gulick told the Daily Report March 20.