The Secure Internet Protocol Router Network, or SIPRNet, locally managed exchange email accounts will be migrated to a centrally managed Department of Defense Enterprise Email, or DEE, on Thursday. This is an effort to move DoD assets to “the cloud” to consolidate resources and reduce costs, according to Ken Forner, chief, Server Management Branch, Fort Huachuca Network Enterprise System.
So instead of each installation, such as Fort Huachuca, maintaining local exchange servers, classified email services will be managed by the Defense Information Systems Agency, or DISA, for the entire DoD.
DISA is a combat support agency which provides, operates, and assures command-and-control, information-sharing capabilities, and a globally accessible enterprise information infrastructure in direct support to joint warfighters, national level leaders, and other mission and coalition partners across the full spectrum of operations.
Forner described the upcoming mail migration.
“This is actually the same process that happened back in 2011 on the NIPRNET [unclassified email system], only it is now focusing on the classified email systems,” Forner explained.
“The SIPRNet is a system of interconnected computer networks used by the U.S. DoD and the U.S. Department of State to transmit classified information, including information classified as ‘Secret.’ It also provides services such as Web access and electronic mail.”
As such, SIPRNet is the DoD’s classified version of the civilian Internet.
Network Enterprise Technology Command headquarters was migrated as a test in December 2012, and the remaining Fort Huachuca users will start migrations on [Thursday].” Forner stated, adding that the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence will be migrated in March.
“This will affect all SIPR email users. Initially, it will affect all users with locally hosted exchange accounts that have a working SIPR token. Just as with the NIPR email, a DoD-issued smartcard token is mandatory for access to the SIPR DEE system,” Forner added.
The Thursday migration date is for Fort Huachuca users who: meet the migration criteria; have a working SIPRNet smartcard; have a SIPR email account hosted by the Network Enterprise Center; and have a provisioned email account at DEE or DISA. Users who do not meet the migration criteria will be migrated at a later date.
“We will be performing migrations every Thursday until all Fort Huachuca users are migrated,” Forner said.
The remainder of the Army will be scheduled after Fort Huachuca, but will be migrated by the Brigade Migration Command Centers. These migrations will not affect users on Fort Huachuca.
Issues with email will now require interaction and/or cooperation with DISA to be resolved. The local NEC will troubleshoot the issue to verify; if it is not a local client or communication problem, then the NEC will forward the incident to DISA to address the actual email issue.
For more information about the migration, call 533.8416.
