910th CF safeguards YARS network Published Feb. 16, 2011 By Staff Sgt. Valerie Smock 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- Computer migration allows easier access for Airmen to log onto any computer at Air Force installations around world In this day and age of cyber crimes, Wiki Leaks and high-tech terrorism, computer security has become a national priority. The migration team at Youngstown Air Reserve Station is leading the charge to safeguard the wing's computers. "It's no longer bombs being dropped on our heads," said Senior Airman Mark Meyer, a client technician assigned to the 910th Communications Flight (CF). "People are actually attacking us through our networks. And the migration is to help prevent that." During recent Unit Training Assemblies, YARS Airmen may have noticed a change to their computers. The change was part of the Active Directory and Exchange (ADX) project. ADX is a consolidation effort aimed at bringing Major Command-centric networks into a single Air Force level network (AFNet). In simpler terms, ADX is how the Air Force and CF merge people and resources in the network. Air Force Headquarters, Information Dominance and Chief Information Office in conjunction with Air Force Network Integration Center, directed the re-design of the Active Directory topology and the corresponding exchange email design. This was done to maximize real-time collaboration and enforce consistent standards across the Air Force, while lowering the administrative workload. The migration is Air Force-wide. The idea is to have all Airmen be able to go to any Air Force installation and log onto a computer without having to fill out paperwork to gain access, said Airman Meyer. "We're one Air Force," said Airman Meyer. "There is no difference between Guard and Reserve. We're one big happy family." It takes a lot of planning to get that family to operate together efficiently. Much of the prep work for the migration here at YARS was completed beforehand, said Major Rick Basting, the Director of Communication with the 910th CF. "Nobody sees what we're doing till it impacts them and they log in and hope [the computer] works," said Major Basting. "There were several months of prep work until we did the physical migration. Most of the heavy lifting was done in about four weeks of focused effort where it was all hands on deck." CF ran into permission and email troubles throughout the migration process; however, most problems were fixed promptly, said Airman Meyer. Even though there were a few bumps in the process, the migration went very well, said Major Basting. "The committed resources we had on base as well as those overseeing it from the Air Force level were in harmony and we met the challenges head-on," said Major Basting. "Change isn't always easy, but we appreciate patience as we work through this."