Since the Army closed all retiree's AKO accounts in 2014... what do you think of this loss of benefit?

SFC Charles S. — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 19:05:33 -0500

The U.S. Army will close all retirees' and family
members' AKO accounts between Dec. 31, 2013 and Mar. 31, 2014.  Additionally, you can no longer store email
in AKO after Dec. 31, 2013.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p><o:p>When AKO accounts were created back in the Late 90's they were promised to retirees for life.  What do you think about this loss of benefits?</o:p>

Response by SFC Charles S. made Nov 5 at 2013 7:08 PM

SFC Charles S. — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 19:08:07 -0500

I have used my army.mil e-mail account for seeking employment and even qualifying for services to verify my military status. Future retirees will no long be able to use these benefits.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 6 at 2013 12:18 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 12:18:57 -0500

This is a pretty sizeable breach of trust in my opinion. Most of my military affiliated correspondence goes through my AKO account as well as years worth of messages sent and received. Worth mentioning also is that this is one of the few ways I can track down old members of my units and help with others questions... "hey SGT Orr, do you have a copy of that unit award from back in '96" or "I need a copy of the deployment order from Kosovo".

I find it hard to believe that cutting this benefit will save any real money at all. This leads me to question the purpose of deleting all of these accounts?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 6 at 2013 12:32 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 12:32:58 -0500

http://www.ftgordonsignal.com/news/2013-10-18/Community_Events/Army_to_close_retiree_AKO_accounts_in_2014.html

Army to close retiree AKO accounts in 2014 | http://www.ftgordonsignal.com | Fort Gordon Signal

On Sept. 20, the Army published its plan to modernize Army Knowledge Online. The plan transitions business users to a suite of more secure, interoperable Department of Defense services.

Response by SFC Charles S. made Nov 7 at 2013 11:55 AM

SFC Charles S. — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 11:55:12 -0500

This entire decision was from the Secretary of the Army bullet point 1.

In this time of constrained resources, the Army must leverage new technology and

business processes to improve critical mission operations and functions and set the

information foundation of Army 2020. Among the most visible of these initiatives is the

Army's adoption of the Department of Defense's Enterprise Email service. To achieve

the anticipated financial economies, efficiencies and security improvements, the Army

must modernize current Army Knowledge Online (AKO) infrastructure and services to

become more interoperable across DoD, compliant with emerging Joint Information

Environment architectures and implement current best practices for cloud-based

managed services.

Response by SFC James Baber made Dec 13 at 2013 5:18 PM

SFC James Baber — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 17:18:43 -0500

It will hurt the veteran retiree community the most as we will lose those connections and networks that we have built, and also the information pipeline that many need for long distance from any brick and mortar installations for assistance.

I have already forwarded all my messages from my email folders, but will hope for a better way in the near future. Although this is a extremely small cost to the overall defense budget it is claimed that it will have a effect on helping cut costs, really something that probably take about 0.001% of the money from the budget will help cut costs, get real.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 13 at 2013 5:19 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 17:19:27 -0500

I thought the whole point of retiring was not having to deal with AKO ever again :)

Response by 1SG David Niles made Feb 10 at 2014 2:12 AM

1SG David Niles — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 02:12:21 -0500

I feel that we are being cast aside, I use AKO .Mil account for many reasons. We need more of a voice out there to get this crap changed before our year is up with the forwarding to a civilian account. Any suggestions let me know.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2014 12:48 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 12:48:23 -0500

Your AKO account is not closing only your AKO email. Plus all Retirees have a new email, [login to see] . You can always set it up in outlook. You do have access to your AKO account. AND if you had forwarded your AKO email to a civilian email you would still receive AKO mail; you just cannot access old mail on the AKO server

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2014 1:32 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 13:32:10 -0500

Maybe im not tracking on what kinda benefit this will be.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2014 6:09 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 18:09:44 -0500

SPC - Do me a favor and live a little before being such an expert. Hard for me to imagine a Specialist knowing more than a little, especially as it comes to the need for change. In fact, I wonder about you.

Response by LTC Martin Metz made Feb 11 at 2014 4:22 PM

LTC Martin Metz — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:22:45 -0500

Some of us retirees still maintain contacts in the .mil community. It feels like we're being closed out.

Response by CPT Timothy Crooks made Sep 22 at 2014 3:24 AM

CPT Timothy Crooks — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 03:24:28 -0400

So let me get this straight. My orders are 'transfer into the retired reserve". That means in an emergency, I can be called upon. Am I correct? Why take away this channel from those of us who have retired. We still coach, teach and mentor younger troops. If anything, to prepare them for their retirement.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 22 at 2014 3:57 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 03:57:26 -0400

I was surprised that there was such a thing in the first place. Navy never game me an E-Mail account when I retired.

Response by SSG Maurice P. made Oct 18 at 2014 8:10 AM

SSG Maurice P. — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 08:10:47 -0400

doesnt surprise me o doesnt care so no one else does...........

Response by SSG Maurice P. made Oct 18 at 2014 6:07 PM

SSG Maurice P. — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 18:07:30 -0400

CAN WE EVER GET THAT BENEFIT BACK

Response by SSG Maurice P. made Oct 19 at 2014 9:24 AM

SSG Maurice P. — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 09:24:40 -0400

SFC STALEY help me with this i'm a snail i'm very slowwww,what does the army expect us to do about getting into deers and other links that ako provided us?????

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Jan 11 at 2015 12:49 AM

SFC Mark Merino — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 00:49:00 -0500

I was bummed until I found RallyPoint. That decision was horible because it cut us off even further from our military family.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 11 at 2015 12:54 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 00:54:56 -0500

To be honest SFC Staley, I don't spend a lot of time on AKO (other than the mandatory check on my Medpros and GAT) as an active duty NCO. I can't imagine spending any time on AKO as a retiree.

Response by MSG John Wirts made Jan 11 at 2015 2:05 AM

MSG John Wirts — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 02:05:01 -0500

I was never able to use this, I transferred to the retired reserve in 1993, if it existed then it was so new we were not informed of it nor was any training available on how to use it. When I heard of it and tried to activate my account, the password requirements were so difficult,with my medical conditions and medications, I never was able to activate it. Any computer system for retired disabled or the like I say issue a random number generator synched up to the password security system. Paypal has this security available and I use it. With it you establish a password, this must have the number in the security device to logon. This 18 characters with capitols, special characters, numbers, and small letters change every other month! Who can keep up with that? Not me.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 11 at 2015 2:17 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 02:17:41 -0500

If we are adding benefits to the public for just being an eligible voter, why can't we keep a promise to those who worked for the benefit.

Response by LTC Martin Metz made Jan 12 at 2015 2:31 AM

LTC Martin Metz — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 02:31:55 -0500

Here is a link for FAQ for retirees using AKO: https://esd-crm.csd.disa.mil/app/answers/detail/a_id/1252/kw/retiree

End of AKO portal access: "The Army is extending the deadline for retirees and family members to access the AKO portal (e.g., files, pages, groups) to 30 March 2015. You will still be able to login to AKO, but will have a limited view."

Response by COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM made Jan 13 at 2015 1:24 PM

COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:24:57 -0500

A short sighted decision for several reasons:
- Mentoring. AKO for retirees made it easier for currently serving Soldiers to contact and leverage retiree experiences and advice.
- Recruiting. Regardless of the millions of dollars spent on recruiting, the most effective recruiting tool is word of mouth by Soldiers who previously served. An AKO account for retirees would help this effort.
- Reunions. Easier to find former Soldiers for unit reunions if all retirees were on one email system. Relates to current Soldier in that unit reunions are a great way to build current unit esprit de corps and to connect past Soldiers with current Soldiers. Can also help current Soldiers better appreciate what they have right now if they are able to get a glimpse into the future of what they will become.
- Keep promise. I don't recall AKO accounts being promsied to retirees for life in the 1990s but that is something that I was not focused on in the 1990s. If promised then it should be kept.
- I am sure there are other reasons that RP members can think up but my assumption is that decision makers looked at this from a tangible cost savings perspective without potential consideration of the intangible benefit perspectives.

Response by SSG Karl Fowler made Jan 20 at 2016 10:20 PM

SSG Karl Fowler — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 22:20:02 -0500

i know this is an old thread but what the heck,,I retired in 2014 and did not know they did this till just recently , this shows how much I used it but when I did use it was very helpful, I would like to have some of the emails I had on there

Response by 1SG Frank Girona made Feb 14 at 2016 11:47 AM

1SG Frank Girona — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 11:47:41 -0500

I thought you the (Army) said we are soldiers for life ...???

So, now we are second army soldiers citizen.. well done.. have the rest of the day Off

Response by SFC Mitch Mobus made Nov 29 at 2016 2:37 PM

SFC Mitch Mobus — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 14:37:30 -0500

I didn't like it at all. Having a .mil email address gave me a sense of still belonging to the family that I gave 20 years to. I'm sure "they" had their reasons for deleting retirees' accounts, but would hate for the rationale to be "to save money." If nothing else, the .mil email address was useful when logging into DFAS.

Response by SP5 Joseph Lowndes Jr. made May 29 at 2017 1:08 PM

SP5 Joseph Lowndes Jr. — Mon, 29 May 2017 13:08:12 -0400

Never used it

Response by SFC Laurence Hart made Jan 14 at 2018 8:52 AM

SFC Laurence Hart — Sun, 14 Jan 2018 08:52:17 -0500

Ha Ha I just realized this was done! I lost contact information and all kinds of somewhat valuable information i would have printed out for history sake and memories. I just got tired of resetting those stoopid passwords all the time.