JBER: 3rd CS, 59th Signal Battalion prepare for transition

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ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  The Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson stand-up is rapidly approaching and with it the merger of many support functions.

Air Force communication and Army signal organizations are laying the framework for seamless support to their Army and Air Force customers during this transition. The 3rd Communications Squadron and 59th Signal Battalion currently provide diverse information technology services to their customers.

These units are focused on consolidating a subset of their operations and improving services to all joint base members.

Unlike some functions, the Army and Air Force communications units will not fully merge under the joint base host unit. While the 3rd CS will fully transition into the 673rd Communications Squadron, only certain support functions from the 59th Sig Bn will integrate.

Official telephone maintenance, telephone operations and directory assistance, land mobile radio support, communications infrastructure and the "giant voice" mass notification system are some of the areas that will merge.

The 673rd CS will provide these capabilities to the entire JBER population, meeting or exceeding standards currently set by either service.

The Army Network Enterprise Center, formerly the directorate of Information Management, will remain under the 59th Sig Bn and will continue to provide Army mission units access to the Army network data services.
Although network services will not be combining under JBER, the current plan calls for an expansion of the Air Force network infrastructure into all buildings that house JBER personnel. This will enable JBER support personnel the collaboration, messaging and other information sharing capabilities needed to efficiently expedite support to all mission units of JBER.

When this plan is approved, Army employees will transfer into the joint base and migrate onto the Air Force network with seamless access to all Air Force functional and personnel IT resources.

The key to this effort centers on complete identification of IT needs.

A special IT Task Group was stood up under the JBER Enterprise Office to coordinate with the communications functional working group and lead the massive effort of collecting IT requirements across all JBER organizations. The hard work underway now will ensure a smooth transition and merger to the joint base.

Throughout the transition of Elmendorf and Fort Richardson to JBER, a team of Air Force and Army professional communicators is working to ensure the transition is easy on all members. 

If you have any concerns or questions about your unit's transition or communications needs, contact your unit's JBER representative. The JBER Enterprise Team can be reached at 384-JBER (5237),or via e-mail at  jber.qa@elmendorf.af.mil or jber.qa@richardson.army.mil. / (courtesy of JBER Enterprise)