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By BENJAMIN KEPPLE
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
MANCHESTER – A New Hampshire trade group has joined a regional effort to bring a new U.S. Air Force command to Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Mass.
Hanscom is one of many sites in 18 states the Air Force is considering as a permanent home for the Air Force Cyber Command. Although the base is in Massachusetts, the potential impact of the command's presence is so large that it has attracted attention from around New England. Were the command to be established there, it would mean millions of dollars each year in business for civilian contractors -- and Granite State firms would be in the mix to earn some of that money.
"The direct impact would be 550 jobs created by the Air Force. These are jobs now scattered throughout the entire country," said Matt Pierson, chairman of the New Hampshire High Technology Council. "The overall impact is expected to be more than $1 billion, over the next 20 years, that the Cyber Command is expected to contract out."
"This could be big," said Fred Kocher, the group's president, "and we're pulling out all the stops to go after it."
The newly created Air Force Cyber Command will deal with electronic and network warfare: not only protecting American networks from attack, but also going on offense if needed to degrade an enemy's capabilities. The command, now in a provisional status, is expected to start initial operations this fall. It is currently based at Barksdale Air Force Base, located outside Bossier City, La.
There are two big advantages that Hanscom has going for it, according to those working to bring the Cyber Command there.
The first is that Hanscom is in the heart of New England's technology corridor. That means the Air Force could draw on expertise not only from tech-oriented companies, but from the many colleges and universities in the region.
"That's what we're using as a basis to put us in the running -- the intellectual capital in both industry and academia," said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Donald Quenneville, who is now the executive director of the Defense Technology Initiative, the group spearheading the effort to bring the Cyber Command to Hanscom.
The second draw for Hanscom is that the Air Force's Electronic Systems Center is already there -- and the center has been named the acquisition agent for the command. As a result, putting the command at Hanscom would let the Air Force streamline its acquisition procedures, according to Quenneville.
"This is the place to put it," said Quenneville. "We've got everything going for them."
The DTI, a project of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, has received significant regional support. Along with the New Hampshire High Technology Council, the groups helping it are the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp., the Connecticut Technology Council, and TechMaine, a technology trade group in the Pine Tree State.
Officials in New Hampshire have also thrown their enthusiastic support behind the DTI's efforts.
"We are entirely supportive and engaged in the effort, and stand ready to help out in any way that we can," said Steve Boucher, a spokesman for the state Division of Economic Development.
Right now, the 18 states are in the process of sending information to the Air Force about their respective sites. Later this year, the Air Force will release a list of finalists, including a preferred location and several alternate sites. The final decision will be made l
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