Durbin Announces New Cybersucirty Team to be Headquartered in Illinois
[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, announced today that the Illinois National Guard will be leading a new cyber protection team. The 39-person unit will be a joint mission with the Wisconsin National Guard and headquartered in Illinois.
“This new squadron gives the Illinois National Guard a leading role in supporting our national cybersecurity operations, which are critically important to our homeland security efforts,” Durbin said. “As Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, I am always proud to see Illinois’ defense installations play such an important and dynamic part of our nation’s defense.”
In meetings throughout the year with Secretary of the Army John McHugh, Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno, Chief of the National Guard Bureau General Frank Grass, and others, Durbin has advocated for expanding Illinois’ role in cybersecurity defense operations. In 2014, Durbin announced the addition of two new cyber protection squadrons at Scott Air Force Base.
As the Vice Chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees discretionary spending for our nation’s Armed Forces, Durbin has taken a leading role in helping maintain Illinois’ leadership in national defense, and in supporting Illinois’ defense installations including Scott Air Force Base, the Rock Island Arsenal, and Naval Station Great Lakes. Durbin also continues to lead bipartisan efforts among Illinois’ Congressional Delegation in pressing the Air Force and the Air National Guard to identify a new flying mission for the 183rd Fighter Wing in Springfield, Illinois.