It's the little things that It's the little things that It's the little things that It's the little things that It's the little things that count count count count count "The proliferation of the date change is amazing," said 1st Lt. Steven Goodman, Air Intelligence Agency's Year 2000 Project Officer. Because of memory conserva-tion efforts and the programmers' be-lief that the applications being devel-oped (in 1950) would be outdated by the year 2000, "developers used two-digit date fields to designate the year in soft-ware, hard-ware and firmware," s a i d Goodman. Due to con-stant up-grades and changes in infor-mation technology, the date was overlooked as an issue that would be taken care of by newer computers. "The large numbers of non-com-pliant systems seem to reflect the past belief that most systems developed, even in the last decade, would be obsolete and retired before 2000," he said. The problem has been acknowl-edged, if not completely understood, for some time, "but the scope and magnitude continue to expand with our understanding," Goodman said.
Go forth and conquer Go forth and conquer Go forth and conquer Go forth and conquer Go forth and conquer Brig. Gen. James Miller Jr., as well as former AIA commander, Maj. Gen.
Michael Hayden, directed AIA Y2K activity in 1997, including the addi-tion of resources to the AIA Y2K pro-gram office and the inclusion of Y2K as a Commander's Interest Item for all Inspector General visits.
"Off we go into the wild "Off we go into the wild "Off we go into the wild "Off we go into the wild "Off we go into the wild blue yonder ..." blue yonder ..." blue yonder ..." blue yonder ..." blue yonder ..." For the four members of the AIA Y2K Project office, that's how it could possibly feel. With the ultimate goal of provid-ing an AIA-wide coordinated effort that ensures no operational system is adversly affected by Y2K problems, they have their job cut out for them. "AIA intends to detemine the scope of the problem, assess the costs necessary to resolve Y2K issues, peri-odically report their findings to AIA senior leadership, and facilitate unit solutions to automated information system and infrastructure problems," said Goodman. The Y2K problem is not just com-puter hardware. "Many Air Force and AIA units develop software systems to perform mission functions and for each one that uses a date to operate, there is a potential Y2K conflict," Goodman said. "The problem could potentially affect any electronic system that uses a clock or date information to per-form necessary functions. The problem affects the Air Force in ways ranging from delivering ac-curate intelligence data and bombs on target to delivering pay checks to personnel," said Goodman. "If the problem were completely ignored, we would see system fail-ures in communications, finance, hos-pitals, weapon systems and any other
by Staff Sgt. Kimberley Young HQ AIA/ PA Kelly Air Force Base, Texas
Y ready to go home. You use your government AMEX card to pay your $600 billeting bill. WAIT!
The computer won't accept it. So you try to take out a cash advance on
your credit card, but the ATM is out of order. You call the bank to check
on the problem and they show no record of you having an ac-count
with them. While arguing
with the billeting clerk that something
must be wrong and you can't pay the
bill out of pocket because there was
a problem at your home base's finance
office resulting in your check not being
deposited into your bank account, you miss
your flight home. Could it get any worse?
Well, it could if you had made the plane. The plane you were supposed
to be on crashed in a mid-air collision because air traffic control systems
went dead and the planes lost the ability to navigate properly.
Could you even imagine that type of situation? What could be so big to
cause such disasters? A date! Two-digit date fields to be exact.
The above scenario is extreme and probably won't happen, but measures
need to be taken to fix the computer problem by the year 2000.
According to former Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall, it is
considered to be the Air Force's "top software sustainment issue."
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areas that possess technology inten-sive capabilities," Goodman added.
Without hesitation, a plan's Without hesitation, a plan's Without hesitation, a plan's Without hesitation, a plan's Without hesitation, a plan's initiated initiated initiated initiated initiated
There is a solution in all the mad-ness, computer madness, that is.
For most of the automated infor-mation systems where the unit con-trols
the computer source codes, the project team has initiated a five-phased
process: -Awareness -a dedicated period
for the Air Force and AIA in which project teams were developed to pro-mote
Y2K-related concerns and is-sues
-Assessment -an opportunity to inventory systems and determine the
size, scope, costs, and status of unit Y2K problems
-Renovation -conversion process of making non-compliant systems
compliant -Validation -tests the compliance
of systems in a controlled environ-ment
-Implementation -units field the compliant systems in a controlled en-vironment
Currently, AIA ia actively con-centrating on the last three phases, according to Goodman. Infrastructure compliance is also a problem. Although treated in a slightly different process, infrastruc-ture compliance may pose the greatest problem. The infrastruc-ture resolution phases include in-ventory, assessment and implementation. "They follow a similar ap-proach to the other resolution phases, but reflect the great numbers of poten-tial infrastruture systems (from phones to alarm systems), the dependancy on vendor compliance efforts, and the re-ality of unit Y2K funding timelines," said Goodman. In order to fix the problem, an
inventory has to be made of all major electronic infrastructure items with em-bedded microchips. No easy task! "Milestones have been set for each phase of the resolution process," said Goodman. "The action plans establish unit-based cost and schedule ob-jectives and become prioritization and risk man-agement tools for command-ers. "Infrastructure items must also be inventoried with an emphasis on the necessary time and money required to ensure system compliance through upgrade and/ or re-placement," Goodman added. Where does the money Where does the money Where does the money Where does the money Where does the money come from? come from? come from? come from? come from?
Mr. Emmett Paige, ASD/ C3I, spoke before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, stating "once identified within a sys-tem, the year 2000 problem is usually trivial to solve, technically, but it is an enormous management problem." The problem? Funding. Funding for the Y2K project efforts is planned and managed at the unit level. Existing operations and maintenance budgets are being used to fix the problems," said Goodman. Each unit has been directed to create a Y2K funding review policy that implements ex-isting Air Force Y2K guidance and places responsi-bility for funding priorities on each commander. "The scope of the Y2K problem is different at each AIA unit. Units are going to great lengths to ensure that systems critical to the unit's mission continue to function," Goodman said.
Air Force-level managers of ser-vices such as pay and benefits are working hard to ensure there is no lapse of service. "The systems that are most at risk in 2000 are the systems farthest from the mission, but it is up to each unit commander to assess the associated risks and cre-ate a prioritized solution," said Goodman. For the Air Force In-formation Warfare Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, there is reportedly only two systems needing to be fixed, according to Capt. Martin Solis, AFWIC's branch chief of the plans and programs shop. "The cost for fixing the systems should be minimal due to the fixes being incorporated into upcoming scheduled maintenance," said Solis. "During our last IG inspection, the AFWIC was cited as exceeding all standards and was well ahead of time suspenses from higher headquarters," said Solis.
Where do we fit in? Where do we fit in? Where do we fit in? Where do we fit in? Where do we fit in? With the overwhelming task at hand for the Y2K project office, where
do we fit into the scheme of things? Be careful to keep good records and backups of important data during 1999. Avoid the temptation to fix your own problems. Let the system admin-istrators handle it. Complete an inven-tory and develop an approach to help your unit Y2K representatives. Develop a strategy for the replace-ment and upgrade of your systems using your existing funding. "Without your attention, your problems may not get the help they deserve," said Goodman. The task is a great one and the project team is willing to take on the challenge because after all, Goodman says, "we are simply playing the hand that we've dealt ourselves." The effort is expected to continue through FY 2000. 2