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The Army’s new Mobile Connect App provides Soldiers with fast, secure log-ins to EAMS-A

By Michael BeatonSeptember 23, 2021

Mobile Connect
Released in 2021 the Army Mobile Connect app provides fast, secure log-ins to EAMS-A using any personal mobile device. Mobile Connect works anywhere, either with or without internet connectivity and includes many features Soldier find convenient and useful. (Photo Credit: Photo Graphic by Michael Beaton, for TRADOC Public Affairs (Released).) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT EUSTIS, Virginia – Released after rigorous prior vetting and testing, the Army Mobile Connect App is changing the way Soldiers access controlled official Army websites. With an emphasis on usability, the app has a simple two-factor authentication that provides instant, simple and secure logins to EAMS-A on your personal mobile devices.

Working together to develop, test and release the app, personnel at the Training and Doctrine Command’s (TRADOC) Army Career Tracker (ACT) Program Management Division, the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information System (PEO-EIS), and The Army Distributed Learning Program’s Mobile Division (TADLP), the app was released in January 2021 as a download for both Android and Apple smartphones on a number of public platforms.

The app went through a rigorous improvement and testing process prior to its release to create a user-friendly and practical experience for users with an emphasis on simplicity.

Instrumental in the creation of the app, PEO EIS provides much of the Army’s information technology as well as providing network and business systems.

The ACT system, within the Program Management Division, besides administering its namesake responsibility of assisting Soldiers in tracking their Army careers and education, is the Army’s automated enterprise solution for the Total Army Sponsorship Program (TASP). The Army Mobile Connect App will be instrumental in allowing Soldiers and Sponsors to access ACT and securely execute Army Sponsorship on their mobile device without the use of a CAC Card.

“Our involvement started with the Mobile Connect pilot program at the beginning of 2021. One of our main roles in helping to develop this app was to represent the end-user and give as much feedback as we could to the developers,” said Tyrone Johnson, Chief, Army Career Tracker (ACT) Program Management Division in a telephone interview six months after the app went public.

During the approximately six-month period since its release, Soldier reviews had given the app a nearly unanimous “thumbs up”.

“Mobility is increasingly important to Soldiers, and smartphone access to Army sites is key to providing that mobility and flexibility. A user does not need to be on the NIPR to use the app - making it ideal for personnel without access to a CAC enabled device.” Johnson added.

“We are constantly vetting the app to make it valuable to the user.” said Matt MacLaughlin, Chief of TRADOC’s Mobile Division who initially published the app and has released an update with expanded features. “Once downloaded, this app will work with or without internet connectivity on a personal device. Equally - if not more importantly - Mobile Connect adds trusted security to username/password logins, protecting user’s accounts from hackers and malicious activity.”

The Army Mobile Connect App has a 4.9 out of 5 stars approval rating from the independent website “appgrooves” and a 4.8 out of 5 stars rating from Google Apps. Comments from both sites were overwhelming positive, with user reviews calling the app “Resourceful” and reporting that it “works flawlessly”.

SIMPLICITY OF DESIGN: THE MOBILE CONNECT APP

The app requires a US Army EAMS-A account and registration for the Mobile Connect service. Simple, step-by-step instructions are provided in the app.

After logging in to EAMS-A as a user normally does, Mobile Connect sends an immediate notification to the users device, asking to approve the login. Alternately, the user can elect to use a generated one-time passcode instead.

In the near future Army Mobile Connect will provide access to systems and content that will not be available with username/password alone.

ABOUT THE ARMY DISTRIBUTED LEARNING PROGRAM (TADLP)

Established by the Chief of Staff of the Army in 1996, the Commanding General of Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) was appointed the Executive Agent for TADLP and is the full-line authority for the centralized management and integration of the program. Located at Fort Eustis in Virginia, the TADLP Director is Michael Holt. The Army Distributed Learning Program (TADLP), improves Army readiness by providing rigorous, relevant, and tailored distributed training and education to Soldiers, leaders, and Army civilians from a responsive and accessible - frequently mobile - delivery capability. Distributed Learning (DL) is a modern, proven instructional model used by the Army to deliver individual, collective and self developmental training and education anytime, anywhere. TADLP leads the way in creating user-friendly, pliant and adaptable distributed and distance learning models that leverage emerging technologies to distribute learning across an array of portable devices in a variety of formats depending on the needs of the user. To learn more about the people and facilities of TADLP visit their website at https://tadlp.tradoc.army.mil/

ABOUT THE U.S. ARMY TRAINING AND DOCTRINE COMMAND (TRADOC)

The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) was created on July 1st, 1973. For nearly half a century TRADOC has fundamentally transformed the U.S. Army into the best trained, best equipped, best led, and best organized modern land power in the world today. TRADOC shapes Army forces through four primary functions: Recruitment and Training, Leadership Development, Doctrine and Integrating Capabilities. Headquartered at Fort Eustis, in eastern Virginia, TRADOC executes its mission through five subordinate commands and centers, U.S. Army Center of Military History, The U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas), The U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training and the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (located at Fort Knox, Kentucky). The command has a global perspective and oversees 32 Army schools organized under eight Centers of Excellence, each focused on a separate area of expertise within the Army (i.e. Maneuver and Signal). TRADOC trains more than 500,000 Soldiers and service members each year. To learn more about the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command visit their website at  https://tradoc.army.mil/