SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AP) — Scott Air Force Base is boosting its cyber security efforts amid ongoing efforts to lure a federal spy agency’s new regional headquarters to southwestern Illinois.
The 835th Cyberspace Operations Squadron and the 837th Cyberspace Squadron were activated at a Tuesday ceremony.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports the new squadrons will employ 200 active-duty troops, 59 civilian workers and 20 military contractors.
St. Clair County has offered free land near the Air Force Base for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency relocation project.
The defense and intelligence agency is a combat support branch of the Department of Defense that is looking to relocate from its current location near the Anheuser-Busch brewery south of downtown St. Louis.