Windows 10 Rollout Begins in the Pacific April 2017

By 1st Lt. Emily Klinkenborg (311th Signal Command)February 13, 2017

Windows 10 Logo
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Operating Windows 10
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Fort Shafter, Hawaii -- The 311th Signal Command (Theater) is teaming up with the United States Army Chief Information Officer/G-6 to implement a major system upgrade that will affect every end user throughout the Pacific region, requiring new computer workstations for those that cannot be upgraded.

In order to combat emerging threat tactics of vulnerabilities on our existing computers, the DoD CIO and Army CIO/G-6 have directed that all computers running a Windows operating system be migrated to Windows 10 (Win10) by Jan. 31, 2018.

The G-35 Enterprise Project Management Office is coordinating with USARPAC and all subordinate units to test the new image and to familiarize themselves with the new security settings, core applications, and hardware/software as a part of an "Early Adopter" phase.

"The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) software is a replacement for the legacy BIOS and the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 hardware is state-of-the-art, but many of the end users do not have workstations to support it yet." said John Boeck, G-35 EPMO. "The goal is to increase the security of Windows."

Units are undergoing a major Life Cycle Replacement (LCR) operation throughout the Pacific to receive new systems that will meet rigid cyber security standards with the Defense Information Systems Agency.

"We ask that units consult with their IMOs and S-6/G-6 shops about their LCR plan. Otherwise, older machines might not comply with the new Windows 10 image and will be at risk for being removed from the network late 2018," said Boeck.

The recommended minimum requirements for an existing computer to effectively run Windows 10 are:

1) Processor (CPU) -- 1.8GHz Core i5 or greater (or AMD equivalent)

2) Memory -- 4GB RAM, 8GB RAM "highly recommended"

3) Disk Size - 20GB free space available for the Windows 10 Operating System with an overall drive size of 256G or greater

4) Graphics Card -- DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver

5) Display -- 800 x 600

All new computer purchases must also have the following minimum standards so that all of the advanced security features of Windows 10 can be enabled:

1) Firmware that supports UEFI v2.3.1

2) Trusted Platform Module (TPM) v2.0

The Army's Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) program will only sell computers that are fully compliant with the Windows 10 advanced security features.

All Network Enterprise Centers in the Pacific will execute a 10% deployment with each organization prior to a full deployment. The 10% will only be comprised of G-6/S-6 sections and Information Management Officers. Full deployment will proceed after all critical issues with initial deployment have been resolved.

"The timeline is a moving goal post," continued Boeck. "There are dependencies we are working on our end to ensure customers and their workstations remain compliant on the network and we have developed a comprehensive Unit Deployment Plan to ensure mission accomplishment with zero vulnerabilities."