Governors involved in Cyber Command basing process Published March 28, 2008 WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Air Force officials here are involving the governors and communities of 18 states interested in hosting the new Air Force Cyber Command in the basing process. Bill Anderson, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, sent a letter to the governors outlining the basing process and notifying them of an upcoming data call that will allow each community to highlight attributes they feel will be good for the command. In the letters, Mr. Anderson addresses the deliberate approach Air Force officials are taking in choosing the final location for the command's headquarters. "We are systematically moving through a sound basing process to ensure mission requirements determine the best location for this important command," Mr. Anderson said. The data call information will be sent before May 15 with responses from the communities due by July 1. During the summer, each location will be visited by Air Force officials to discuss and verify collected data with community and installation officials. As for the command timeline, it will officially standup Oct. 1 with Barksdale Air Force Base, La., as the interim location. A short list of possible final locations should be announced by the end of the year with the final location announced by September 2009. At the end of the letter, Mr. Anderson advised each state and local government against investment in infrastructure targeted to attract the mission. The governors who received letters are from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page