Guard base's new cyber unit to bring 70 new jobs

Battle Creek's Michigan Air National Guard Base will host a cybersecurity operations squadron, bringing 70 new jobs to the base at W.K. Kellogg Airport.

The base is one of four locations in the nation chosen by the U.S. Department of Defense to receive a cyber unit, Gov. Rick Snyder announced Wednesday. The squadron will be assigned to the base's 110th Attack Wing.

“Cyber-attacks are an unfortunate reality of a world that is becoming increasingly more dependent on technology,” Snyder said in a statement. “I’m proud of the work we’ve 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.”

A cyber operations squadron "conducts a multitude of cyber domain operations in support of the overall Air Force Cyber Mission Force," according to a news release from U.S. congress members Fred Upton, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters.

Battle Creek City Manager Rebecca Fleury said the announcement showed the city's support for a local military presence and expansion. The city recently completed a $6 million project to rehabilitate a runway at the airport, and took over firefighting responsibilities at the base last year after the base's loss of an aircraft-based mission.

"Battle Creek is being recognized as a friendly place for the military and all the resources that come with that," Fleury told the Enquirer on Wednesday. "They've recognized the hard work that this community has done to support the military and to put the infrastructure and assets in place to be able to do that."

Some at the base already have training and experience in cyber operations. The Michigan National Guard's first national cyber range opened in Battle Creek in March 2014. The facility is a partnership between the Michigan National Guard, nonprofit Merit Network, federal and local governments and colleges and universities. There also are hubs at Eastern Michigan University, Ferris State University and Northern Michigan University.

The guard base also is centrally located within FEMA Region 5 and allow rapid response to cyber events in the region, officials said.

Members of Michigan's congressional delegation lobbied for the squadron to come to Battle Creek in an April 8 letter to the Defense Department. Lawmakers pointed to the base's existing infrastructure for such operations, saying the cost savings compared to other bases would be about $2.2 million.

“Battle Creek makes perfect sense to house one of the new cyber operations squadrons,” Col. Bryan Teff, commander of the Battle Creek Air National Guard, said in a statement. “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.”

Officials also have lobbied for Fort Custer Training Center near Augusta to house a possible ground-based interceptor ballistic missile defense mission. It's one of four sites in the U.S. being considered, and if the $3.1 billion mission is funded by the Defense Department, it could destroy ballistic missile threats in space.

Michigan House Republicans said in April the mission could bring $700 million in new construction and about 2,000 new jobs to Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties. A site decision may be made in the next year.

Contact Jennifer Bowman at 269-966-0589 or jbowman@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter: @jenn_bowman. Contact Trace Christenson at 269-966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson