JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- The 747th Cyberspace Squadron recently upgraded its core network infrastructure that provides voice and data connectivity to Airmen throughout the Pacific region.
The upgrade occurred this month and was executed by 11 Airmen and three contractors during a 28 hour authorized service interruption period. The effort increased network stability support of Hickam Air Field, improved data throughput, the amount of data that travels through the network, and enhanced the performance of switches, a connecting device within the network.
“We’ve seen a drastic improvement on the switches themselves,” said Keith Fletcher, Juniper senior systems engineer. “It’s a tremendous throughput that will help with the command’s ability to grow in scale… [It] provides them with a path towards future growth on the rest of the network.”
The project planning process began with site surveys in March where the team coordinated the update to improve command, control and communications (C3) systems. The reliability and availability of C3 systems are essential in delivering the critical information necessary to coordinate, plan and control military operations.
The upgrade was a combined effort between 747th CYS Airmen and industry partners working together to improve idle times and enhance the ability to process and store data.
“[I’m] truly excited about the upgrade that occurred,” said Lt. Col. Brian Dela Cruz, 747th CYS commander. “The Airmen of the Tiger Sharks (747th CYS), along with the industry, stepped up to modernize our network infrastructure and increase our readiness posture to meet the increasing demand of C3 capabilities.”
The team, led by Airman First Class Colby Lirette, 747th CYS technician, was charged with installing, testing and operationalizing core network nodes and modules that are responsible for providing communications for eight Air Force bases in the Indo-Pacific region.
“The reliability of our network is critical in our ability to provide warfighters with trusted and stable systems in-garrison and agile combat employment environments,” said Dela Cruz. “By performing the upgrade, we have optimized our technology to build diversity and resilience to enable the warfighting missions of Pacific Air Forces, the 15th Wing and the mission partners across Hickam.”