[Infowarrior] - Army migrating computers to Vista?!?!

[Richard Forno]

(This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever -- does the Army think  
Vista will offer added value and/or security because it won't be as  
widely-used as Windows 7?  Or is this a case of deploying obsolete and  
inferior products just because they've been paid for under some  
"strategic plan" from years back?  I find this absolutely absurd!   - 
rick)


Army migrating computers to Vista

May 20, 2009

By Gary Sheftick and Delawese Fulton

http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/05/20/21389-army-migrating-computers-to-vista/

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 20, 2009) -- The Army is migrating  
all of its Windows-based computers to Microsoft's Vista operating  
system to bolster Internet security and standardize its information  
systems.

The systems change, which includes swapping Office 2003 for Office  
2007, is set to be completed by Dec. 31.

About half of the Army's 744,000 desktop computers have already  
installed Office 2007, estimated Dr. Army Harding, director of  
Enterprise Information Technology Services for the Army's G-6. She  
said about 13 percent of the computers have migrated so far to VISTA.

The migration was mandated in a Fragmentary Order published Nov. 22,  
2008. It was sent out Army-wide as FRAGO 2 to Department of the Army  
Executive Order 056-05.

"It's for all desktop computers on the SIPR and NIPRNET," Harding  
said, referring to both the classified and unclassified networks. She  
added that the only exemptions are standalone weapons systems.

First-time Vista users will discover added support for data  
encryption, a new Windows Explorer, upgraded icons and navigation  
structure. There are also graphical replications of clock, calendar,  
weather and Outlook mail functions.

The switch to Office 2007 actually began earlier than the Vista  
migration, Harding said.

The new Office suite provides more straightforward document security,  
according to reviews, which add there's better integration throughout  
applications. But the new tools interface is not always intuitive and  
many reviews say there's a steep learning curve.

In the continental United States, the Army has installed Vista so far  
in about 44,000 computers. Fort Campbell, Ky., is leading the charge  
with more than 5,350 computers migrated to Vista, according to G-6 data.

Fort Stewart, Ga., has about 3,800 computers installed with Vista.  
Fort Lewis, Wash., and Fort Drum, N.Y., both have more than 2,150  
computers migrated.

Fort Jackson, S.C., has just over 1,000 of more than 7,500 computers  
converted to Vista. But Directorate of Information Management  
officials there say they are on track to meet the December deadline.

"The goal is to minimize the impact to the installation's training  
mission," said Marcus D. Good, chief of the Information Technology  
Systems Support Division at DOIM.

"We want to handle this migration in a way that makes sense to the  
organizations fielded."

"As for the impact on Fort Jackson, the DOIM has been working with the  
installation's IT professionals and Information Management Officers  
from many different organizations to test Vista in a controlled and  
limited deployment," Good said.

Fort Jackson's DOIM officials say the initiative will strengthen Army  
LandWarNet security by reducing opportunities for hackers to access  
and exploit government computer systems.

"The Army has been testing Vista since its release and has run it  
through the Army Golden Master program. The Army Golden Master program  
is responsible for the release of the Army standard baseline  
configurations for commonly used computing environments within the  
Army Enterprise Infrastructure, the team responsible for making sure  
applications that ran on XP will run on Vista," Good said.

As with the implementation of any new technology, there will be  
challenges to overcome -- not to mention this will be a change for  
users who have gotten comfortable with Windows XP and Office 2003. The  
new look and feel will take some time to adjust to, Good said.

The Soldier Support Institute staff was first to begin migrating to  
the new operating system at Fort Jackson.

Sharon Reed, chief of IT at the Soldier Support Institute said the  
division is providing several resources to facilitate the transition  
for its employees and customers.

"During this process, we are offering several in-house training  
sessions, helpful quick-tip handouts and free Army online training,"  
Reed said.

Reed added that because several of the division's employees already  
use Vista and Office 2007 at their homes, it has shortened the  
learning curve for SSI overall.

The 171st Infantry Brigade started the Vista system last week, said  
Lashanda Howard, DOIM Vista migration project leader.

Howard said the roll-out is well planned and strategic. Classroom  
computers, dayroom and kiosk computers, new computers (such as life  
cycle replacement computers) and computers with minimal impact to  
mission readiness will be part of the initial implementation.

Soldiers and employees who have never used the operating system, can  
preview it and begin training by visiting http://usarmy.skillport.com  
and https://train.gordon.
army.mil/.

(Delawese Fulton writes for the Fort Jackson Leader newspaper.)