Comm Airmen repurpose technology, save $400K

by Staff Sgt. Jason McCasland
2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs

9/26/2013 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Creative thinking from 2nd Communications Squadron Airmen saves Barksdale Air Force Base and the Air Force more than $400,000 worth of information technology.

After Eighth Air Force moved from the Cyber Innovation Center last February and into their temporary building at the 608th Air Operations Center, remaining network equipment at the CIC was stored until it could be repurposed or disposed of.

"We are repurposing a full suite of network communications hardware," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Miscisin, 2nd CS IT project manager. "This full suite included network switches, routers, and power supplies. We were able to upgrade the repurposed equipment for the Air Force Global Strike Command inspector general and Eighth Air Force's new building."

Not only does the repurposed IT equipment save money, it saves time.

"By reusing the old equipment and simply upgrading it, we can make the installation at the new building easier as well," said Staff Sgt. Bobby Joe McGlothin, 2nd CS IT project manager. "It will also save setup time of the equipment the new office will use."

Repurposing also reduces Barksdale's impact on the environment.

"By reusing what we already have, we can save the base from sending it to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office," said Miscisin. "All we had to do was simply contact the manufacturer and get the IT updated. Paying for the upgrade was less expensive."

During times of fiscal insecurity 2nd CS Airmen are using creative and critical thinking to reduce the Air Forces financial footprint.