OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- Beginning January 17, commercial contractor Unisys will take over help desk services for all non-classified IT related issues for Offutt AFB.
The change is part of an “Enterprise IT network-as-a-service” program that was implemented in 2018 to improve Air Force IT by outsourcing common services.
The biggest change for Offutt users is that they will now be required to call the EIT Service Center at 1-888-996-1629 to request support for non-classified email, internet, hardware or software related issues.
Wayne Brown, who is the EITaaS technical point of contact for the base, says the EITaaS program will be more flexible in modernizing communications by bringing in the best commercial capabilities.
“Communications, in today’s landscape, adapts to change faster in the commercial sector than in the DoD,” Brown said.
This change will also allow Airmen to focus more on the cyber battlespace and mission assurance.
“We can take the battle to the end user weapon system, defend it, and take the war back to our adversaries,” Brown said.
Brown said the new program should provide much more proactive support, which should result in better network reliability for the long term.
Currently, the program is being tested at eight installations across the Air Force and is expected to be expanded to more following an evaluation period