Air Force client system technicians update software for computers that are used on Air Force networks at Fort Meade, MD. (Air Force)
WASHINGTON: More than a week after an Air Force officer’s scathing “fix our computers” screed went semi-viral online, the military’s top information officers said they have taken the discussion “to heart.”
“We know there is a lot of work to do to make your user experience better, increase our cybersecurity, and enable modern office productivity and analytical capabilities,” reads a LinkedIn post published today and signed by the chief information officers of the Defense Department, the Army, the Air Force and the Navy. “We definitely haven’t been standing still on this point, however, and ensuring we deploy increasingly improving capabilities for you — the folks getting work done every day in the Department — is our priority.”
The original rant, posted on Jan. 25 as an “open letter” on Twitter by Maj. Michael Kanaan “on behalf of Every DoD employee,” implored the Pentagon to “fix our computers” before investing elsewhere and described comically poor functionality with the systems currently in use. Kanaan is an Air Force intelligence officer and the director of operations at an Air Force-MIT artificial intelligence accelerator.
“You tell us to accelerate change or lose, then fix our computers. Before buying another plane, tank, or ship, fix our computers,” one section reads. In another, it describes a computer freezing after opening an Excel spreadsheet or restarting 10 times for various updates.
“We’re the richest and most well funded military in the world. I timed 1 hour and 20 minutes from logging in to Outlook opening today. Fix our computers,” it says.
Kanaan said in the tweet that the letter was “echoing some recent servicemember frustrations regarding computers in the Department of Defense. These are voices that have gone unheard for far too long.”
In the LinkedIn response, the military’s information officers said they are “aiming to provide DoD users with secure, best-in-class performance so you can get your missions done.”
“We know we still have work to do, and rest assured that we’re going to keep up the press,” it says. “We value the candid feedback and, believe it or not, we remember what it was like before we were CIOs and on the user end of things. We’re committed to getting this right!”
Today Kanaan told Breaking Defense, “Responding directly to the needs of US servicemembers & DOD employees is genuine progress in the right direction.”
“I know we are all glad to see this conversation getting the attention it deserves, and appreciate it deeply,” he said.
Breaking Defense’s Valerie Insinna contributed to this report.
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