Gov. Rick Snyder: Dept.

of Defense chooses Battle Creek Air

National Guard Base for new Cyber Operations Squadron
Base chosen for expertise in cybersecurity, will add 70 new positions
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
LANSING, Mich. The Battle Creek Air National Guard base is one of four
locations in the United States chosen for a new Cyber Operations Squadron to
help detect and protect against cybersecurity threats, Gov. Rick Snyder said
today.
Michigan and Battle Creek, chosen by the U.S. Department of Defense, were
selected to host the newest cybersecurity unit because of their pre-existing work
to train both military members and civilians in strategies to defend against the
increasing number of cyber breaches.
Cyber-attacks are an unfortunate reality of a world that is becoming increasingly
more dependent on technology, Snyder said. Im proud of the work weve done
to establish Michigan as a national leader in this field. The new cyber unit will
help ensure we remain on the forefront of this mission and provide new and
future opportunities for growth.
The cyber operations squadron, assigned to the 110th Attack Wing, will bring
about 70 jobs to the base. Some members there already have training and
experience in cyber operations from their involvement with the Michigan National
Guards inaugural Cyber Range Hub, which opened on the Battle Creek base in
2014.
The hub is part of the Michigan Cyber Range, launched in 2012, and allows for
reenactment exercises and simulations that will test reaction and detection skills
in a variety of settings across the state. The range is a partnership between the
state, Merit Network, federal and local governments and colleges and
universities. There are three additional hubs at Eastern Michigan University,
Ferris State University, and Northern Michigan University.

Battle Creek makes perfect sense to house one of the new cyber operations
squadrons, said Col. Bryan Teff, commander of the Battle Creek Air National
Guard. The recruiting base we have here in Battle Creek, coupled with the
robust cyber-capabilities already in place will allow us to easily expand those
capabilities to accommodate an entire squadron.
The addition of the Cyber Operations Squadron builds on Snyders larger
cybersecurity initiative, which aims to raise awareness of cyber threats, provide
training to identify and disable threats, and encourage continued collaboration in
the to defend against potential cybersecurity breaches.
This also builds upon the Army National Guard Cyber Protection Team that
Michigan was awarded earlier this year. The team worked in partnership with the
Ohio and Indiana National Guards to further enhance cybersecurity initiatives.
For additional information on Snyders 2015 cybersecurity initiative
visit www.michigan.gov.
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