Fort Sill, Okla. - Many thousands of people on Fort Sill use a computer for work every day. With a two-year warranty on each computer, and increasing Army demand for better systems, the lifecycle isn't very long. When these computers are replaced with new and improved versions, the old ones aren't lost in a sea of hardware at the Directorate of Logistics. They are recycled.
Instead of throwing the machines away or selling to the highest bidder, the computers are donated to local schools as part of the Computers for Learning program.
As stated on the CFL Web site and provided by the U.S. General Services Administration under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, "The CFL program evolved as a guide for implementing Executive Order 12999, Educational Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for all Children in the Next Century. The executive order encourages agencies, to the extent permitted by law, to transfer computers and related peripheral equipment excess to their needs directly to schools and some educational nonprofit organizations. The CFL program specifically matches the computer needs of schools and educational nonprofit organization with excess equipment in Federal agencies."
The program has been used by the Defense Logistics Agency for many years, but Fort Sill only adopted it three years ago. The Installation Management Command and the Fort Sill Garrison embraced this community building opportunity again in November with renewed interest for our Team-Sill Oklahoma PRIDE and allows the Commanding General and Garrison Commander to make investments within the Army's vision of community partnership and covenants. Chris Grigsby, the Director of Logistics for the Installation provided: "It is a pleasure to be able to match federal policy intent to the Lawton-Fort Sill community building partnership vision of the Commanding General and the Installation Management Command's desire to support and build on these relationships. We are as strong as our community and this program matters."
"We had nothing to put in to the program until three years ago," said Ronald Davie, chief of the installation property book office in the Directorate of Logistics. "In recent years we only had 200-300 computers a year that we could donate. This year we have that many every couple of months. Schools from all over the state sign up for free computers.Fort Sill isn't the only ones who donate computers; this is a Department of the Army program. Schools in Oklahoma can also get computers from Altus and Tinker."
Any public school, elementary through high schools, who wish to be on the receiving end of the program can sign up on the DLA Web site. They need to then send their requirements list with a date and what they need."
All computers are completely wiped clean of any information," said Davie. "After the computer is clean, a certificate is printed and signed and sent with it to us to be donated. We won't accept any machine that doesn't have a signed certificate. We even spot check some of the computers we receive to make sure it is clean."
The computers that are donated are still in very good working condition and must meet certain standards. Some even come with a warranty left on it.
"The computers we give to school must be capable of using the Lawton Public Schools network," said Davie. "We don't just give them trash."
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