Fifty years of heritage (edition 24) Published Sept. 30, 2011 By Eric M. White 910AW/PA YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- YARS goes digital Computer systems have become an integral part of operations at Youngstown Air Reserve Station. Most offices have and use desktops and laptops as part of daily operations. Computers are now compact and efficient machines, taking little desk space or folding to fit into a small bag. In 1978, at the advent of personal computers, YARS' sole computer system filled a large room, yet provided limited functionality compared to modern systems. The following article, from the May 1978 910 Flyer, features the base personnel responsible for operated YARS' computer system. Computer run by experts When you step inside the temperature-controlled highly-complex computer room in data automation, you deliver yourself into another dimension. Silent computers sit idly one minute, ten spew out cards and data output the next. Toney Sparacino explained that in July 1975, a Honeywell 725G Remote Job Entry Terminal (RJET) system was installed at the 910th. This system is manually linked to the Burroughs 3500 computer and electronically linked to the ul050-II computer at Rickenbacker AFB, Ohio. Data automation services base supply, its largest user, as well as maintenance, base operations, vehicle maintenance, civil engineering, logistics and procurement. Supply uses the computer services more than seven and a half hours each day. Strange language used Even the language used is futuristic. Ann Long and Norma George use words like 'inline time', 'real time', 'data bank', and 'diagnostic routines', with great ease, but to a common layman, these terms are useless without these exerts to tell us what they mean. Essentially, data automation can store information, retrieve information, set up new programs as well as run listings when needed and reproduce decks o f cards. Working from 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the cheerful folks in this office provide excellent customer service.