Perpetual care allows perpetual service

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Michael Hess
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  In an age where the inhabitants of thirdworld nations have mobile telephones, but don't have drinkable water, it's no wonder the Information Systems Flight is the backbone of RAF Lakenheath. The base uses more than 5,000 government-owned computers that transmit information through more network cable than a person can shake a stick at. 

The multi-faceted flight, which falls under the 48th Communications Squadron, is responsible for everything that enters computers, from network security to bandwidth. 

"A large section of the flight is the Network Control Center," said 2nd Lt. Noel Horton, network operations officer. 

Of the 91 people assigned to the eclectic flight, two-thirds work in the NCC, whose primary duties are to maintain the base's computers and networks. 

The computer-to-maintainer ratio is daunting, which is why the organization trains and  employs computer system administers, or CSAs, each year. The flight's workload is significantly decreased thanks to CSAs throughout the installation. 

"Our CSAs are very important to our operation," said Senior Master Sgt. Stanley Abramowich, flight superintendent. "We can't have our guys respond directly every time a computer has a problem. Our CSAs can take care of most things, which allows us to concentrate on other tasks." 

The flight's ability to multitask is key, for their role stretches beyond updating software and repairing hardware. Their mission also encompasses security, management, web design and records management. 

Network management is a new initiative the flight is working to promote. 

"The network management lets our personnel know who their important customers are," said 1st Lt. Peter Conn, information assurance officer. "In the event a server goes down, we need to know who the important users are. Obviously, users such as the wing and group commanders need to go up quick, but who's next?" he said. 

The flight's goal is to put a quantitative value to each connection and it's a work in progress. 

Every computer is susceptible to software and hardware issues, though a team of Airmen ensure these are the only problems our computers face. Government computers can be just as prone to attacks by hackers, viruses and tampering as personal computers, but the team of is Airmen ensure a secure network. 

The Airmen perform a number of functions to prevent these problems, including the ability to remotely control any computer on the LAN and check for unauthorized software, which can carry viruses. 

"We don't have any major problems, which is a testament to our Airmen," said Capt. James Drake, flight commander. 

"We routinely run tests and search for unauthorized computer programs. Most people aren't malicious, though they need to realize their workstation is not a personal computer, it's a government computer," said Lieutenant Conn. 

Other tasks include high-visibility items such as managing the RAF Lakenheath Family Portal and the intranet Web site, 48FW.com. Their limited staff performs every update and revision the sites undergo. Their records management flight handles all records on base to ensure effective archiving for future use. 

The facets of the organization are the core of the 48th Fighter Wing communication. This is the flight's perpetual maintenance allows the base to function in this computer age.