AETC closes global address lists Nov. 19 to 20

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RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  All Air Education and Training Command Microsoft Exchange e-mail users will find something missing from their global address lists Nov. 19 to 20.

E-mail services will be available all weekend. But as part of a planned upgrade to the system, command e-mail users will not be able to view any non-command destinations in their list pull down menus.

Also, while other commands will disappear from AETC e-mail systems -- AETC will disappear from other commands' global address lists during the migration to a new, upgraded system.

The changes are temporary, and all Air Force addresses should be back in the e-mail system by Nov. 21, said Lt. Col. Paul Hardy, the command's computer systems squadron commander.

"This first step must be completed before we can continue our migration to the updated e-mail system," Colonel Hardy said. "This first change will be invisible to the user. When folks return to work Monday (Nov. 21), their address book and e-mail will look virtually identical to how it looked when they left Friday (Nov. 18)."

The Microsoft Exchange upgrade will allow the command to follow the Air Force's lead in updating e-mail technology.

According to Rebecca Meares-Jones, network operating and security center engineering chief, there are two drivers behind the needed upgrades.

First, the old system will no longer be supported by Microsoft beginning in December. Upgrades are necessary to migrate to a system that will be supported. Second, there are significant benefits for the customer by upgrading the system -- to include much improved Outlook Web capabilities and interfaces.

These benefits will not be seen immediately, said Ms. Meares-Jones, but will become apparent as they are phased in across the command during the first six months of 2006.

However, Ms. Meares-Jones warned that after the address book change, some e-mail users may experience delivery problems when sending e-mail. All of these problems can be fixed by re-addressing the e-mail from the new address list.

(Courtesy of AETC News Service)