Is there anyway to aid in National Guard Soldiers being able to access .Mil sites from home?

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 12:36:12 -0400

I researched and found that USAR at least had something in the past, that used Citrix to allow Remote Access to ARNet. Does the national guard have something similar, if not, why? If so, I'm all ears.

I have been trying to get Soldiers to collaborate on upcoming Missions (on a pay status, of course) from home, utilizing sites provided by the Military, but none will work. The only thing that does work is Shared sites like Google Drive. Which for OPSEC purposes shouldn't be used.

Has anyone else tried to do something similar?

I see this as a growing problem, as little by little we as NG Soldiers are losing our ability to access critical information while not in front of the one computer that we have at the Armory, which may or may not be working.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 4 at 2023 1:05 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 13:05:07 -0400

I understand your pain.

How I might approach it is if said soldier is "on orders from home", or if they are doing 1380's in replace of orders might they be hand receipted a unit lap top and take it home with them.

For the most part, I can basically take care of all my personal stuff from home. It can be a pain, but I figured out how to set up my lap top to comply in just about everything I need to cover down on my own personal things.

Now, what I was never able to do, and I presume never will be able to do is the next level of "unit level administration". There is no way I'm going to get things like MEDPROs or DMTS (for data entry, or uploading into iPerms) working on a personal computer from home.

But, if you have someone who is legit going to knock out measurable tasks like personnel updates records updates (things that can be counted and tracked) then I see a legitimate argument to hand receipt out a military laptop they can access needed things with.

It would probably need to be documented in a manner that said solider provides all the current cyber security and awareness training certificates, and a counseling statement to the effect they understand the single and only use for said laptop and their compliance with cyber security and OPSEC.

I personally would totally sign of on such an action in my Company Command, provided we had an extra MIL laptop, and provided said laptop would also always be back to battle assembly regardless if the soldier was absent or not (they'd have to figure a way to get that lap top back so it could be used as an extra during BA's).

Response by Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin made Apr 4 at 2023 2:08 PM

Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 14:08:27 -0400

I would imagine based on need and authorization, a PC/laptop could be issued to you with a VPN client. The Air Force was using AnyConnect while I was working with them during COVID, which allows you to connect to a Virtual system, but I do not know if they or the NG use that now. Those are really the two best ways to do it somewhat securely.

Response by COL Randall C. made Apr 4 at 2023 2:23 PM

COL Randall C. — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 14:23:38 -0400

For the National Guard the answer is ... Maybe.

Why? It depends on your state and each may be different. In some states they have a CITRIX setup like the USAR, some do VPNs into RCAS, others even still do dial-up access!!

These days almost all home access falls into the category of "turn you computer into a remote monitor for a server that is on the .mil network" so there isn't any security issues of software incompatibility, malware, etc.

Suggest you contact your J6 section in state - they would have the best answer.

FYI: I did a quick search for New Jersey and came across an old article from your DMA (Department of Military Affairs): "THE INFORMATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIVISION IS ESTABLISHING A VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (VPN) CONNECTION TO THE RESERVE COMPONENT AUTOMATION SYSTEM (RCAS) NETWORK. The VPN will allow another path to the RCAS network resources through an individual's private Internet service provider (ISP). This connection will provide fast access to RCAS to authorized personnel who have an ISP and home computer. Currently, the only method of remote access is through a dial-up modem connection on an official computer. When the VPN is in place, it will provide better service to RCAS network users and reduced cost to the Army National Guard. "

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 4 at 2023 4:21 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 16:21:39 -0400

There is currently a pilot going on of Azure Virtual Desktop. It's a Microsoft licensed remote desktop, hosted inside the .mil domain, behind the Army firewalls. Once registered, you can access thus from any device, via a local client or a web client, provided only having a CAC reader.

I urge everyone in the Guard to register for this. Register through MS Teams. It's advertised on the Army Hub.

Response by CSM William Everroad made Apr 4 at 2023 6:07 PM

CSM William Everroad — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 18:07:42 -0400

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member In my units, anyone who needed a laptop, even for a day or two, got one. We made sure the S6 managed our allocations so that every laptop we had was ready to go.

One issue is that some Full Time staff are only authorized a desktop, but no one uses them.
Another issue, specific to the reserves, is that Soldiers who want/need a laptop can't get one because they haven't completed the required steps (including training and access request) for an ARNet account.

I am not in favor of putting a GOV Citrix on our personal computers. We already have Soldiers misusing GOV computer and GTCs, imagine the additional problems that come with the additional security vulnerability. Remote terminals is the solution to that (and on the horizon), but if you thought Citrix on a GOV laptop slowed you down, hang tight.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 4 at 2023 9:04 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 21:04:09 -0400

Citrix has been an option in some states, we had it but the license fee was not worth the limited gains.
Teams is functional from your own device but limited.
Our state has already started the BYOD, which makes Teams fully functional:
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/army/2021/12/army-to-expand-byod-pilot-after-successful-national-guard-testing/

If you don't have that in NJ yet, your unit can set up a team on APAN, much easier to collaborate, meets OPSEC requirements.
https://www.apan.org/

Army to expand BYOD pilot after successful National Guard testing | Federal News Network

For once, it’s the National Guard and Reserves who get first pick on the Army technology front.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 12 at 2023 3:40 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 15:40:32 -0400

Just got this email today, BYOD now open to general user onboarding, all compos:

The Army’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Pilot is now open for general user onboarding across all Components. This unique capability enables users to access their work resources, such as Army 365, directly from their personal phone or tablet.

You are receiving this email because you are an experienced mobility user using a DOD Mobility Unclassified Capability (DMUC) phone or tablet -- your participation in this pilot is voluntary and does not incur any additional costs to your organizations. As an experienced mobility user, your feedback will be especially helpful for us to identify what’s going well, what’s not going well, and where we need to make improvements – it is critical to ensure the BYOD service meets the needs of our Army users.

In short, the Army’s BYOD solution provides a 100% private, virtual application on a user’s personal phone or tablet – all data remains ‘in the cloud’ so the capability does not store any official data on the user’s personal device. Doing so allows the user to:

* Access A365 Email and Teams from their personal device WITH 100% PRIVACY
* Access CAC-Enabled NIPRNet websites from their personal device
* Eliminates the need to carry multiple devices to conduct official business

RCWP Enrollment Form (via NIPRNET): https://aka.ms/rcwpenrollment

RCWP Enrollment Form (via Commercial Internet): https://aka.ms/rcwpflow3enrollment

For more information, and instructions on how to enroll, please visit the Army BYOD SharePoint Portal below.

https://armyeitaas.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/hypori <https://armyeitaas.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/hypori>

Thank you in advance for your support and we look forward to your feedback as we continue to evaluate this unique capability.

Respectfully,

The G6 BYOD Pilot Team

rcwpenrollment

Response by CSM Christopher St. Cyr made Apr 26 at 2023 7:51 AM

CSM Christopher St. Cyr — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 07:51:50 -0400

They probably need a government device with VPN.

Response by SGT Erick Holmes made Jun 23 at 2023 7:30 AM

SGT Erick Holmes — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 07:30:18 -0400

I thought that they could get a CAC card reader and install it on their laptop or personal desktop and go from there. Times may have changed since I got out.