Editor’s note:  This is the second in a series of articles and notifications to keep Hill AFB personnel informed of the upcoming communications network migration.

Migration to the Air Force Network (AFNet) will begin Sept. 30 and will last approximately three months. This article closely mirrors a 30-day eAdvisory recently sent to all base network users from the 75th Communications Focal Point. Initial testing begins Sept. 30 and the Hill AFB network user migration will begin on or about Oct. 7 and will continue for several weeks. User impact should be minimal and changes relatively transparent.

So how will this affect you? The most visible change will be in the format of your e-mail address. The migration formally replaces the old first.last@hill.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 TDY or PCS moves.

Sites such as the Air Force Portal, Air Force Personnel Center and Defense Finance Accounting Service will remain easily accessible regardless of duty location. The migration will also result in a consolidated customer service help desk called the Enterprise Service Desk (ESD — https://esd.us.af.mil/esdportal/), designed to serve as a “one-stop-shop” for the resolution of common user problems. If you are TDY during the migration, you can access your mail through the Web (https://hill.mail.us.af.mil/owa/).

If you experience computer/network related problems, you may continue to call the First Response Service Center (586-TECH). Once the migration commences, standard PC related problems will be directed to the AFNet Enterprise Services Desk (ESD).

What can you do to prepare? As a first step, users must ensure they are up-to-date on their annual DoD Information Assurance CyberAwareness training. If your training certification expires during the migration period, September through December, the migration will disable your account. Next, users should conduct some cleanup — e.g., back up large files to CD/DVD and reduce email storage size. During the migration, Hill AFB users should be prepared for occasional service interruptions as migrations progress and expect to restore some features to their desktop environment (e.g., Outlook preferences, SharePoint access, drive mapping) after they have migrated.

Contact the 75th Communications Focal Point at 801-586-8888 or Hill.CFP@hill.af.mil for questions or concerns. As we progress through the migration, eAdvisories and notifications will become more unit-specific to ensure your organizations are prepared.