ARLINGTON, Va. — The Air Force has announced the possible locations for the headquarters of 24th Air Force, which will be focused on the service’s cyber mission.

They are:

■ Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

■ Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

■ Langley Air Force Base, Va.

■ Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

■ Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

■ Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

A final decision is expected by June, an Air Force news release said.

In selecting a base, Air Force officials will consider proximity to other cyber operational missions and access to scientific and technical expertise, and communication/bandwidth capabilities, according to a news release.

Other evaluation criteria include facilities and infrastructure, support capacity, security and transportation/access.

It has not yet been determined how many personnel will be assigned to 24th Air Force, which will fall under Air Force Space Command, according to the Air Force.

"Airmen engaged in cyber operations provide a crucial part of operations security and achieve a range of kinetic and nonkinetic effects, from guiding precision strikes to providing persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance," according to Air Force Cyberspace Command (Provisional).

The new fighting force might work to defeat information technology network attacks or a terrorist’s use of radar jamming or global positioning systems. The force might also monitor and disrupt enemies’ Internet financial transactions and prevent attacks against American servers, according to the Air Force.

The importance of cyber defense was underscored in November, when the worm virus "Agent.btz" infected Defense Department networks, prompting the department to ban the use of all flash drives and storage devices on government computers.

Russia also launched an effective cyber attack against Georgia in the lead up to last summer’s war between the two countries.

Stripes editor Patrick Dickson contributed to this report.