News, weather and the commander…just a mouse click away!

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kapinos
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Soon the Warriors of the North will have access to news, weather and base information right at their workstations with the implementation of an Air Mobility Command initiative set to launch Sept. 1.

The initiative, called IPTV, or Internet Protocol Television, will give anyone with the proper computer credentials the ability to watch real-time, base-wide programs, such as commander's calls or local news. The programs will be broadcast over the computer network, letting people essentially watch TV on their desktops.

"The driving force behind this initiative is the cutting of cable costs," said Tech. Sgt. Warren Scriven, 319th Communications Squadron, NCO in charge of projects, plans and implementation. "Instead of paying for all of the cable hookups for all the televisions throughout the wing, we can pay the initial costs for the training, equipment and licenses and then our costs become minimal."

IPTV is a program that has been directed by AMC and is expected to be implemented command wide soon. Grand Forks AFB is planning on launching in the beginning of September after a review by senior wing leadership. It is also being evaluated for use Air Force wide, as other commands are currently using similar programs.

While the programming available to servicemembers will be reduced from what is currently available, it will still fulfill all that is needed for mission accomplishment. Two local channels, along with several national news networks, The Weather Channel and the commander's access channel will be available for viewing.

This type of outside media is not usually allowed to be broadcasted or viewed over military computer networks because of the possibility of an outside source using the opening to infect the network with a virus. Sergeant Scriven says this isn't possible with the new configuration.

"There isn't a vulnerability to attack with this system because the servers are right here," he said. "We get our servers directly from a satellite television provider, so security concerns about intrusion by outside sources are not an issue."

No extra training is required to use the system, although Sergeant Scriven is in the process of developing a user's guide. Access for IPTV will be found on the Web site for the communications squadron, as well as a protected base Web site.

"After that, users can save the location in their favorites file, making it even easier to use each time they choose to do so," said Sergeant Scriven.
"This will be actually as easy as using your remote control at home, it's a simple, easy-to-use system," he added.

This $166,000 initiative will give the wing commander more access to the troops than ever before. They will be able to broadcast live coverage of their commander's calls or save them for a future broadcast. This allows people who weren't able to leave work to attend a call the ability to view the material either later, or as it is happening. It also gives commanders or trainers the possibility of broadcasting training videos to squadrons or even the entire wing at one time.