Luke’s AFNet migration begins Aug 27 Published July 20, 2012 By Maj. Shay Warakomski 56th Communications Squadron LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- As the Air Force continues transforming its cyber operations, 24th Air Force will establish a centralized user directory and e-mail service for all Air Force network users. The Air Force Network migration project will collapse all stand-alone environments into a single, integrated network structure under the operational control of one commander, creating one Air Force network for all bases and users. The migration to centralize services will significantly improve network security and situational awareness, standardize the cyber environment, and reduce costs. On Aug. 27, Luke Air Force Base will become the next AETC installation to migrate its users into the AFNET. Over a period of 90 days, technicians will begin migrating Luke workstations, network users and e-mail. For the majority of Luke customers, most of the changes will be transparent and should not cause any interruption to network access or normal day-to-day operations. For the Air Force, this migration represents a major change to how computer networks are managed. Until now, major commands and various other Air Force organizations have been operating their own independent networks, consequently driving unique and unit specific requirements. Through the years, this approach led to standardization and security problems, high operations and maintenance costs, and a lack of situational awareness across the enterprise. In short, there was no single organization or commander responsible for the network. The AFNET migration project addresses these issues and places Air Force cyber operations under the operational control of a single commander. This approach aims to significantly improve the Air Force's ability to find and fix network vulnerabilities and negate malicious intrusion attempts. Additionally, AFNET migrations will centralize services like e-mail and data storage, significantly improving network security and standardization. Finally, operational and training costs will be reduced through the elimination of redundant systems and services. The most visible change will be in the format of your e-mail address. The migration replaces the old first.last@luke.af.mil e-mail address with a standard first.last@us.af.mil address. The new addresses will remain with users for the duration of their career, employment or affiliation with the Air Force, regardless of the base or organization assigned. As more bases join the AFNET, Airmen will be able to login to their accounts from any AFNET base without requesting and creating an additional account. This will allow easy access to the network during deployments and throughout temporary duty and permanent-change-of-station moves. To ensure a smooth transition to the AFNET, look for future 56th CS-generated advisories for additional migration related information. For more information, call the 56th CS Communications Focal Point at (623) 856-4400.