FORT BENNING, GA - Fort BenningAca,!a,,cs Directorate of Information Management has become the Network Enterprise Center as part of a transformation move that shifts organizational control of all DOIMs from the garrison level to the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command and 9th Signal Command.
Beginning Thursday, the start of the new fiscal year, the post organization officially will belong to the 93rd Signal Brigade out of Fort Eustis, Va., which falls under the 7th Signal Command at Fort Gordon, Ga., said Paul Yates, the NEC director. A new sign was placed outside Building 16 last week.
Aca,!A"Yes, our name has changed, but our mission really has not,Aca,!A? Yates said Tuesday. Aca,!A"The average Fort Benning user will see no real change or effect. The services will remain, but for individual commands, theyAca,!a,,cll have to get used to some procedural changes.
Aca,!A"My budget is fixed. Now, units might have to pay for extra services, depending on the nature of the requirement. If itAca,!a,,cs within the NEC service list, I can do it. But we will be more specific about what we do.Aca,!A?
DOIMs, created by the Army in the mid-1980s, were realigned under Installation Management Command about six years ago.
Yates said the primary difference today is that IMCOM command and control, as well as funding, is being replaced by NETCOM support.
Aca,!A"Our funding stream follows the command and control stream,Aca,!A? he said. Aca,!A"Now, if I want to add specialized equipment on the network or change someoneAca,!a,,cs credentials, it must be approved at the 7th Signal Command level.Aca,!A?
The reorganization also is a major step in fulfilling the ArmyAca,!a,,cs worldwide Aca,!A"reach requirement,Aca,!A? directing the establishment of the Global Network Enterprise Construct, which streamlines communications across the service and formally links all NEC outfits, Yates said.
When units deployed under the old arrangement, he said, they normally carried their own network capabilities, infrastructure and internal servers to set up communications in any fashion possible. The new setup consolidates Army signal operations under the NETCOM umbrella Aca,!" with processing carried out along distribution nodes all over the world.
Aca,!A"The GNEC goal is that no matter where you go, the capability is there to run your data someplace else,Aca,!A? Yates said. Aca,!A"Pure and simple, the Army saw the network as a combat enabler that was critical to their entire operation and success. Because of that, they saw a need to consolidate all the ArmyAca,!a,,cs networks and develop GNEC, the construct that the network is a combat platform.Aca,!A?
Since continental U.S. installations are used as deployment platforms, NECs were the obvious setting to launch the consolidation, he said.
Aca,!A"Network communication has become strategic in nature. In the past, it was tactical,Aca,!A? he said. Aca,!A"If youAca,!a,,cre not picking up feeds properly, the mission could be in jeopardy.Aca,!A?
Yates said the GNEC concept opens up fresh possibilities in many areas, including customer service, because operations can be centralized.
Aca,!A"That is the ultimate vision,Aca,!A? he said. Aca,!A"Things will continuously get better.Aca,!A?
As part of the NETCOM transformation, DOIM handed responsibility for records management back over to the Directorate of Human Resources. In July, visual-information tasks returned to the Directorate of Plans, Training and Mobilization.
Fort BenningAca,!a,,cs NEC might set up remote offices in Harmony Church and Sand Hill in the next two years to accommodate growth triggered by Base Realignment and Closure projects, Yates said.
In the meantime, the end product will remain the same for Fort Benning network users, he said.
Aca,!A"I am still going to fix computers and make telephones work to the best of my ability,Aca,!A? he said. Aca,!A"My focus in life is to take care of my post and the people here. That wonAca,!a,,ct change at Fort Benning.Aca,!A?
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