The Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz signed a directive memorandum 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.
The 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.
Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., is the first base to undergo the transformation with 1,800 out of 5,800 users already transferred. Over the next 18 months, the complete migration will include approximately 750,000 users at more than 240 locations around the world.
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.
Amaani Lyle (AFNS)
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