Users to migrate to centralized Air Force Network Published July 10, 2012 By Tech. Sgt. Christopher Conway 52nd Communications Squadron SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Spangdahlem AB will soon become the first base in U.S. Air Forces in Europe to migrate its computer users into a central Air Force Network. Technicians will begin migrating Spangdahlem workstations, network users and email into the AFNet during a one month period beginning August 13, 2012. The goal of this project is to collapse all individual or stand-alone Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard networks into the AFNet. During the migration, some Spangdahlem users may experience network or email access interruptions, but for the majority, user impact will be minimal. Although software and hardware problems are to be expected, the AFNet migration project represents a major change to how computer networks are managed and is one of the most complex Defense Department technology initiatives ever attempted. Until now, major commands and various other Air Force organizations have been operating their own independent networks, consequently driving unique and unit specific requirements. Throughout the years, this approach led to standardization and security problems, high operation and maintenance costs, and a lack of enterprise situational awareness. In short, there was no single organization or commander responsible for the network. The AFNet migration project addresses these issues and places Air Force cyber operations under the operational control of a single commander. This approach will yield an improvement in the Air Force's ability to fight daily virus activity and malicious intrusion attempts. Additionally, AFNet migration will centralize services like email and data storage, improving network security and standardization. Operational and training costs will be reduced through the elimination of redundant systems and services. So how will this affect you? The most visible change will be in the format of email addresses. The migration formally replaces the old first.last@spangdahlem.af.mil email address with a standard first.last@us.af.mil address. Regardless of the base or organization assigned, this new address will remain with users for the duration of their career, employment or affiliation with the Air Force. As more bases join the AFNet, Airmen will be able to log into their accounts from any AFNet base without requesting and creating an additional account, allowing easy access to the network during deployments and throughout moves. Sites such as the Air Force Portal, Air Force Personnel Center and the Defense Finance Accounting Service will also remain easily accessible regardless of duty location. The migration will also result in a consolidated customer service help desk called the Enterprise Service Desk, which is designed to serve as a one-stop shop for the resolution of common user problems. As Spangdahlem AB approaches its projected start date, a team of Air Force Network Integration Center, 690th Network Support Group and 52nd Communication Squadron technicians are busy preparing equipment and resources to facilitate the migration of almost 5,000 users and to ensure a smooth transition to the AFNET. Please continue to report communications-related issues to the ESD help desk at DSN 478-HELP(4357).