Osan systems migrating to Air Force Network Published Dec. 21, 2011 By Airman 1st Class Michael Battles 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Beginning Jan. 16, 2012, Osan Air Base becomes the third Pacific Air Force base to transition e-mail and network services to a central Air Force Network. The migration is part of a service-wide effort to convert cyber operations and consolidate network applications for Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard bases. "The U. S. Air Force has initiated the consolidation of base-level network infrastructure to improve security, reduce cost, and enable new capabilities like persistent e-mail and centralized management," said Lt. Col. George Kinney, 51st Communications Squadron commander. During a 6-week period, technicians will migrate Osan's workstations, network users, and e-mail accounts into AFNet. For the majority of Osan AB computer users, most of the changes will be transparent and shouldn't cause any interruption to network access or normal day-to-day operations. For the Air Force, the migration represents a major change to how computer networks are managed. Until now, major commands and other Air Force organizations operated their own independent networks, driving unique and unit-specific requirements. Over the years, this approach led to standardization and security problems, high operation and maintenance costs, and a lack of enterprise-wide situational awareness. The AFNet migration project addresses these issues, and places Air Force cyber operations under the operational control of a single commander. The migration also adds a significant improvement in the Air Force's ability to fight daily virus activity and malicious intrusion attempts. Additionally, the AFNet migration centralizes services like e-mail and data storage, significantly improving network security and standardization. "The most visible change Osan users will see is the format of the e-mail address," said Alston Quimby, 51st CS Plans and Implementation Lead Program Manager. "Original users' e-mails followed the first.last@osan.af.mil, which will be replaced with a first.last@us.af.mil format." The new e-mail address is permanent for the duration of a user's career regardless of permanent changes of station, deployments and temporary duty assignments as long as members are affiliated with the Air Force. "Airmen will have 24-7 access to e-mail and applications during TDY, deployment or PCS," Kinney said. Sites such as Air Force Portal, Air Force Personnel Center and Defense Finance and Accounting Service will also remain easily accessible regardless of duty location. As Osan approaches its projected start date, a team of AFNET Integration Center, 690th Network Support Group and 51st Communication Squadron technicians are preparing equipment and resources to facilitate the migration for almost 9,000 users. "For most customers, the transition will be seamless," said Kinney. "However, if a customer experiences any issues during the actual migration, there will be a team of technicians standing by to restore service as soon as possible." To ensure a smooth transition to the AFNet, look for future Osan AB eAdvisories for additional migration related information. For more information, contact 51st CS Focal Point at 784-2666 or e-mail: OsanCommFocalPoint@osan.af.mil.