News

Changes coming to Air Force network, e-mail operations

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  The Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz signed a directive memorandum recently granting the Air Force Network Operations commander centralized order-issue authority over the operation, defense, maintenance and control of Air Force networks.

As part of an ongoing service-wide cyber operations transformation, the Air Force will establish a centralized user directory and e-mail service known as ADX that will service all Air Force network users.

McChord Field at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., will soon become the ninth base to migrate its computer users into the central Air Force Network, according to Maj. Bob Povlich, 62nd Communications Squadron commander. Over two and a half month period beginning Jan. 17, an ADX project team will begin migrating McChord workstations, network users, and e-mail into the AFNet.

According to Master Sgt. Diane Feeley, 446th Mission Support Squadron, Chief, Systems and Network Operations, Reservists in the wing need to perform three very important tasks before January 17.

1. Backup all your user data (working documents) to a CD/DVD disk or save it to your U Drive on the network share.
2. Ensure the Outlook Autodrop feature is off (where mail is automatically moved from the exchange mailbox to their personal folder). This is configured through the Outlook Application only and cannot be done through web mail.
3. Keep your mailbox as small as possible. If you are getting system warning telling you your mailbox is full, empty it as much as possible (transfer important email to your PST.) If it is full or over the size limit, the account will become corrupt and unrecoverable during the mailbox migration.

"We highly encourage you to manage your e-mail boxes from home through the Home Use Program," said Sergeant Feeley. "Senior Master Sergeant Cindy Thomas (446th AW CST) teaches Home Use classes just about every primary UTA. Members bring their own laptops, they are issued a CAC reader, and taught how to install the ActivClient Software and how to access sites from home."

Sergeant Feeley goes on to stress that if Reservists anticipate being gone between January and April, they should contact their client support technician as soon as possible.

"Our 446th AW members should work with their CSTs if they have questions or concerns between now and January," said Sergeant Feeley.

The upcoming changes will be relatively transparent to most network users, but this migration to centralized services will significantly improve security and efficiency on the Air Force Global Information Grid, officials said.

"Major commands and subordinate commanders will no longer 'own' networks, but will be responsible for their portion of the larger AF-GIG," General Schwartz stated in a mass e-mail to Airmen. "Cyber operations reinforce and enable everything we do -- our Airmen, civilians and contractors, knowingly or unknowingly, engage daily on the cyber battlefield."

"Our ability to operate in cyberspace is vital to all Air Force missions and our nation's security," said Brig. Gen. Mark O. Schissler, the cyber operations director. "Implementation of ADX is one building block we must emplace to streamline management and configuration of our network."

General Schissler explained that the migration reduces needlessly disparate configurations that hamper efficiency, management and control of the Air Force network.

"ADX will improve our ability to manage user profiles and network access, freeing up vital human resources to focus on other crucial network security tasks," General Schissler said.

The most visible changes to Airmen will be the move to a single e-mail address (firstname.lastname@us.af.mil) for the duration of their careers, regardless of the base and organization to which they are assigned. Air Force Network Operations officials said the process builds on the successes of the "E-mail for Life" program, but also provides users log-on capability to any connected Air Force computer without having to re-register for computer access when they relocate to a new base.

"ADX balances resources, accessibility and security -- which is good news for Airmen," said Brig. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., director of Infrastructure Delivery in the Office of Warfighting Integration and the chief information officer. "Airmen, Air Force civilians, and even contractors will have one account and the same suite of software and network resources accessible from any Air Force base around the world."

General Hawkins said the migration is just the beginning of significant progress as the cyber landscape broadens.

"Between the 24-hour technical support from various call centers around the globe, the streamlined security practices, and the better use of resources, this migration marks the onset of a huge step forward for the Air Force," General Hawkins said.

Officials overseeing the migration efforts said base users can prepare for migration by practicing good information management: move old e-mails to a locally stored personal folder, delete unneeded files, and routinely back-up vital files stored on their computer.

For more information concerning ADX, visit the Enterprise IT Initiatives link on the Air Force Portal. ADX specific questions or concerns should be directed to the AFCA/ECSO Enterprise Services Branch, while general AFNetOps specific information is available through the AFCA/ECI AFNETOPS Integration Office. 

(Sandra Pishner, 446th AW Public Affairs, contributed to this report)