USAF agency deploys alert system
- By John Rendleman
- Jun 05, 2008
The Air Force's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Agency can now inform the 2,500 personnel at its Lackland Air Force Base headquarters in Texas about emergencies and urgent situations using the IWSAlerts notification system from AtHoc Inc.
ISR already has deployed IWSAlerts on its Non-Classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) and Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communication System (JWICS) and plans to deploy it on the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network later this year.
The Air Force unit in charge of the Lackland base, the Air Education and Training Command, is deploying the IWSAlerts system for its entire command and plans to have its system fully operational this summer.
When both organizations finish their installations, ISR, a tenant on the base, will have the additional benefit of being able to receive important alerts from the local base command post, including notifications about urgent situations such as severe weather.
The system can accommodate messages with multiple security classifications and disseminate alerts to individuals according to security clearance.
ISR integrated its deployment of the system on the NIPRNet and JWICS, a set of networks used by the Defense and State departments for classified communications, with its Active Directory system to guarantee that its personnel have accurate contact lists and to ensure complete and accurate delivery of all notifications. The system can handle emergency notifications using multiple delivery channels and devices, including computers, desk phones, mobile phones, pagers, personal digital assistants and e-mail.