Cyberspace Command Fight

Gov. Bill Richardson has appointed a 15-member task force of state leaders and retired military officers to help the state compete for the permanent site of the U.S. Air Force’s new Cyberspace Command. The command is temporarily located at Barksdale Air Force Base near Bossier City in northwest Louisiana. The city recently issued $34 million of bonds to build a cyber-warfare innovation center next to the base as part of its campaign to be the permanent home of the command.“With several military bases [and] two premier national security science labs, New Mexico has the right conditions and the best scientific talent to serve as the new home of the U.S. Air Force Cyberspace Command,” Richardson said. “We believe New Mexico is best equipped to host a new Air Force Cyberspace Command and I’ve formed this task force to make that case to the Department of Defense.”The state’s military bases include Holloman Air Force Base at Alamogordo, Cannon Air Force Base at Clovis, Kirtland Air Force Base at Albuquerque, and the Army’s White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico.The Air Force said it expects to choose a permanent location by fall 2008.