Another Retiree Benefit Goes

[The Reaper]

Now AKO for retirees is being withdrawn.

I don't see the huge savings from this.

Might be worth contacting our elected leadership over it.

TR

[airbornediver]

negative, enterprise email is proving to be more of a clusterfuck. Less storage, less means of access, no mobile access.

yeah, its a PITA.

[mconneway]

Damn, that means no more .mil addresses to sign up for good deals from military friendly retailers and manufacturers with.

[miclo18d]

AKO sucked anyway. Old interface. It was confusing to find info. YOu ended up in "knowlege centers'. Had to make a new password once a year then twice a year then quarterly. Couldn't get anywhere you could with CAC access (I'm retired).

The only time AKO paid off for me was on a tour in AFG. I needed GTA cards for mortar ammunition and found them at Ft Benning MLOC knolege center or something like that. Then even on AKO I had to verify who I was and give a reason for needing the info from their administrator....uh....I'm in a combat zone and I need the GTAs to set up a mortar system...how's that for reason? I'd bet money I could find them on the open internet right now...

...what do you know!

[69harley]

As a retiree working in the defense industry, I found AKO helpfull to look up people and to find old friends and unit members.

[sinjefe]

It had its uses but it was hard to use.

[Pete]

You would think with all the "new technology" things would be easier to manage and they would be able to expand services for everyone military related.

But for the Military it seems the more advanced it gets the less it can do.

My Pay? Have a devil of a time getting in it every year to get my online 1099R.

[UWOA (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Pete

You would think with all the "new technology" things would be easier to manage and they would be able to expand services for everyone military related.

But for the Military it seems the more advanced it gets the less it can do.

My Pay? Have a devil of a time getting in it every year to get my online 1099R.

Just got a memo on MyPay ... it's changing, too. Required password change every 60 days using fifteen to thirty characters .... authenticating a cryptosystem doesn't take that much work .... Sheesh!

[Richard]

I've pretty much moved away from AKO over the last couple of years - most of the stuff I'm interested in or need is 'open source' or available through other channels anyway.

DFAS has always been a PIA - I suspect it always will be.

Richard

[SF18C]

In my opnion AKO sucks but I guess some folks find use in it.

As per the Army CIO/G6

Teammates,

As you are all aware, the transition to Defense Enterprise Email is nearly
complete and the Army is switching to providing many other applications,
systems and services at the enterprise level. I am extremely pleased that
we have made so much progress in a relatively short amount of time.

In order for the Army to reap all of the possible financial and security
benefits of these changes, we also must modernize Army Knowledge Online
(AKO) infrastructure and services - making them more interoperable across
DoD and compliant with emerging Joint Information Environment architectures.
To that end, the Army is going to sunset the technological systems that
currently underpin AKO and move to the next generation of technology.

Because access to the new system will require a CAC, the Secretary of the
Army has decided that accounts for Army family members and retirees will not
be economically viable (see attached memo). While transition dates have not
yet been determined, we expect family members and retirees will start to see
a reduction in AKO services by September 2013. Undoubtedly, this change
will cause some concern among these constituencies. We in the Signal
community, therefore, need to start communicating now what is happening.

First, we must make sure everyone affected knows that they will not be cut
off from the important on-line functions and services on which they rely.
DoD already has fully deployed the Defense Self-Service Logon, also known as
DS Logon, which provides more secure access than AKO to numerous DoD and
Veterans Administration self-service web capabilities, such as Tricare
Online, MyPay and the Defense Manpower Data Center. Eligibility for DS
Logon (https://myaccess.dmdc.osd.mil) is based on participation in the
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS); service members
(active, Guard, Reserve and retirees), veterans utilizing VA services,
spouses and family members 18 and over may apply.

Second, unlike when the Army first stood up AKO, the public now has easy,
no-cost access via the commercial Internet to many applications, such as
file storage, email and social media. This availability renders our
previous exceptions to policy unnecessary, and, in fact, statistics show a
continuing decline in the use of these portions of AKO. As part of our
communications regarding the AKO transition, we should encourage everyone to
explore these great, free options.

The Army is committed to ensuring that necessary services and access remain
uninterrupted for military retirees and family members, and that AKO
continues to support critical missions and functions for our business users.
Again, I ask all of you for your help in spreading the word now about this
upcoming change. As things progress, I will send along updates.

As always, I greatly appreciate your hard work and support.

Warmest Regards,

LTG Lawrence

[SF18C]

Update from the Army CIO/G-6

SUBJECT: AKO Implementation Plan

BACKGROUND: On 26 April, the Secretary of the Army signed the memo rescinding the previous exception to policy that allowed family members and retirees AKO accounts. The memo requires the EXORD delineating the Transition plan by 23 Aug 13. A draft media story had already been drafted and is being reviewed prior to submission as an Army news story. A message for the DCIO to send to Congressional PSMs was drafted in coordination with PEO EIS. ASCIM has identified a POC for participation in the transition plan coordination.

WAY AHEAD: Continue to respond to email and phone queries. Awaiting POC identification from ASAAALT, G-1 and G-3/5/7.

[jbour13]

I use AKO for one thing (and it's SIPR equivalent).....global document repository.

It saves me the effort to hand carry PII and other media around the world. If I know I'll have a connection, I have my files.

The email on AKO gets more shitty spam than any commercial service. You cannot unsubscribe from any message you get because http redirecting is verboten on AKO. For anything else, I just tell my guys to use their work emails and forward them off to themselves for use at home.

I don't hear many good things about AKO, but it has it's utility. The email system is the biggest complaint for most. The knowledge that is there (if you can maneuver the system) is wonderful.

Won't be long before all the things we did when I first started off in 1998 are the norm again. I'll be damned if I have to walk somewhere and talk to someone to get work done!

[Badger52]

I notice that when LTG Lawrence talked about Defense Enterprise Email she didn't mention the one message nearly all users have in common: