|
by Jackie Noblett Boston Business Journal
The state is making its case to land the Air Force’s new cybersecurity headquarters to top military leaders — just as that leadership is in the midst of a controversial change.
At a cybersecurity symposium in Marlborough last week, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray met with departing Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to talk behind closed doors about how the state can meet the needs of the service and, at least implicitly, make the case as to why the branch should build its cybersecurity headquarters at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford. The area is among some 20 locales vying for the center temporarily located at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
“We’re saying the right things,” said retired Brig. Gen. Donald Quenneville, executive director of Waltham’s Defense Technology Initiative, a regional trade group. “What it takes for an area to be successful is a strong workforce and a relationship with industry and academia, and we’ve got that in spades.”
A spokeswoman for Murray declined to give details on the meeting.
Area academics and defense contractors also took the time to show off their capabilities at the conference, including sessions led by MITRE Corp. of Bedford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Labs.
The Air Force Cyber Command center would employ between 400 and 500, but high-tech industry watchers expect a ripple effect in the civilian employment.
A coalition of officials from the governor’s office, the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, MassDevelopment and other agencies is putting the final touches on a data call, or request for information about the area under consideration, that must be submitted to the Pentagon by next week.
The state is making its case not on its military presence, which is small in comparison with those in competing areas, but on the confluence of academic research, networking know-how and a growing commitment to cybersecurity work by local defense behemoths like Waltham’s Raytheon Co.
But Wynne’s departure could throw a wrench into the process of siting a new cyber center. Pentagon chief Robert M. Gates removed Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, earlier this month following a report detailing missteps involving the military branch.
Quenneville said that the shake-up will not likely equate to “a change in mission,” but the timeline could be adjusted for the transition or other factors. President Bush has yet to name a permanent replacement.
Wynne’s departure also means a loss of a leader with connections to the area. He spent time at Hanscom early in his Air Force career as a lieutenant.
Jackie Noblett can be reached at jnoblett@bizjournals.com.
|
