Posted on May 1, 2024
What are people's thoughts on the change to A365 no longer being accessible unless you are on a .mil network or VPN?
5.36K
11
10
1
1
0
NETCOM pushed out guidance that they are removing the capability of being able to access A365 products from home (Webmail, OneDrive, SharePoint, etc.), unless you install and utilize the VPN. Wondering what peoples thoughts are on this, it's long been said that leadership cannot force you to install anything on your personal devices. Since email is a primary means of communication it kind of puts people in a corner.
Out of curiosity, do we have a regulation that governs what can and can't be done as leaders when it comes to stuff like this?
Out of curiosity, do we have a regulation that governs what can and can't be done as leaders when it comes to stuff like this?
Posted in these groups: 
Army Regulations
Army Regulations
Posted 8 mo ago
Responses: 4
I am a bit weary of this. I have a personal Surface Go 3 tablet that I use for work. I am able to get into my onedrive and email with it. As long as I can still do that in a similar manner I am fine with it. I used the BYOD and I was not pleased with it. I did not have the same functionality. I worry of the same happening again.
(2)
(0)
2
2
0
Sometimes I think about just stopping all communication subscriptions. Is there a regulation that requires I own a smart phone? If they want to update me on a schedule change they can snail mail it to me.
What was it like in the pre 2000's when the last communication to go out to soldiers in the reserves was the last words in final formation the previous drill?
If you wanted to make a change it had to wait until next month, or it had to be important enough to use the phone chain and expect it to take a week.
The last few months of my command we commanders were required to log into MEDPROS. I lived 400 miles away from the unit and was always behind. I got lucky....... I'm never putting myself in that situation again (where my performance is largely tied to my connectivity to ARNET).
If I can get e-mail I am good to go. If that becomes a problem, welp, the USAR will just have to accept it has hundreds of thousands of soldiers will have the problem as well.
What was it like in the pre 2000's when the last communication to go out to soldiers in the reserves was the last words in final formation the previous drill?
If you wanted to make a change it had to wait until next month, or it had to be important enough to use the phone chain and expect it to take a week.
The last few months of my command we commanders were required to log into MEDPROS. I lived 400 miles away from the unit and was always behind. I got lucky....... I'm never putting myself in that situation again (where my performance is largely tied to my connectivity to ARNET).
If I can get e-mail I am good to go. If that becomes a problem, welp, the USAR will just have to accept it has hundreds of thousands of soldiers will have the problem as well.
(2)
(0)
SGM (Join to see)
I was required to create an AKO account to have AKO email in 1998, even though I already had a mil email. But AKO could be accessed with a username and password from any computer and connection. So the email for everyone requirement has been there for quite a while.
And you would still have access to that email by installing AVD. But it's not a problem for the "USAR" when MDAY/TPU commanders have no access between drills, it's a problem for that commander's Soldiers.
Business still happens every day of the month between drills, that's why we have AGRs. A lot of that business requires a commander's signature, like personnel actions; awards, promotions, pay, profiles, some schools and orders, etc.
And all of this could be manged with just 30-45 minutes total per week.
Or it could add as much as a 4 to 8 week delay to get it past company level if the commander is only signing at drill, and that is direct impact on that commander's own Soldiers.
"USAR" isn't even going to notice, but every Soldier in the company does notice when a process to fix their pay, rank, orders or profile that should only take 4-6 weeks total is taking 4-8 weeks just to get started.
And you would still have access to that email by installing AVD. But it's not a problem for the "USAR" when MDAY/TPU commanders have no access between drills, it's a problem for that commander's Soldiers.
Business still happens every day of the month between drills, that's why we have AGRs. A lot of that business requires a commander's signature, like personnel actions; awards, promotions, pay, profiles, some schools and orders, etc.
And all of this could be manged with just 30-45 minutes total per week.
Or it could add as much as a 4 to 8 week delay to get it past company level if the commander is only signing at drill, and that is direct impact on that commander's own Soldiers.
"USAR" isn't even going to notice, but every Soldier in the company does notice when a process to fix their pay, rank, orders or profile that should only take 4-6 weeks total is taking 4-8 weeks just to get started.
(0)
(0)
SGM (Join to see)
MAJ Ronnie Reams - There are some actions in IPPS-A, GCSS-A, MEDPROs Commander Portal and a few others where an AGR can be a commander delegate and sign for the MDAY/TPU commander, but there are other required actions and forms that require the commander's actual signature.
Back in the old days, when an ink signature was acceptable, this may have been transparent to MDAY/TPU commanders, as many crafty AGRs had their commander's ink signature as a transparent jpg, often without their knowledge, usually lifted from a recently signed form, sometimes from a form in their iPERMS, and just got through the duty day like that.
Now with cac signatures required, the commander is personally involved much more, and those that remember those old ink signature days now feel like so much more is now required.
Back in the old days, when an ink signature was acceptable, this may have been transparent to MDAY/TPU commanders, as many crafty AGRs had their commander's ink signature as a transparent jpg, often without their knowledge, usually lifted from a recently signed form, sometimes from a form in their iPERMS, and just got through the duty day like that.
Now with cac signatures required, the commander is personally involved much more, and those that remember those old ink signature days now feel like so much more is now required.
(1)
(0)
PO3 Jay Rose
I actually remember the phone chains in the 90s, LOL! Not enough service members had access to e-Mail and it was more dependable. We did have e-Mail back at the division office and we were still running Windows NT 3.51! I also remember the migration to NT 4.0! Wow! That brings back some memories!
(0)
(0)
As long as I can access my military email from my civilian computer, I'm fine. It's the other capabilities I need but can't get access to because there isn't enough government laptops to go around. I'm not paying out of pocket to do extra work to access Army systems on my civilian computer.
Not to mention that as a Reservist, I can't just simply take a day off from my civilian job to visit a Reserve Center/NG Armory to use a government computer. Nor would I require my Subordinates to do that.
So, higher leaders can get mad all they want when products they want done aren't getting done because Subordinates don't have the tools needed to produce these products.
Sorry, not sorry. Change my mind.
Not to mention that as a Reservist, I can't just simply take a day off from my civilian job to visit a Reserve Center/NG Armory to use a government computer. Nor would I require my Subordinates to do that.
So, higher leaders can get mad all they want when products they want done aren't getting done because Subordinates don't have the tools needed to produce these products.
Sorry, not sorry. Change my mind.
(2)
(0)
CW3 (Join to see)
So you will be able to do it, you will just have to install Azure Virtual Desktop on your personal computer or Hypori Client on your mobile devices in order to access .mil sites. I am not going to tell those around me to install something, thats a personal choice. I chose to install the software on my computer, no one made me.
They are just backing them into a corner now, National Guard and Reserves tend to get so high in OPTEMPO for whatever reason next thing you know, you are working at home on a project for the Army on your own time.
It would seem that the Army is trying to move towards a method of not having to replace computers every few years and instead pass that buck of to its Soldier's.
They are just backing them into a corner now, National Guard and Reserves tend to get so high in OPTEMPO for whatever reason next thing you know, you are working at home on a project for the Army on your own time.
It would seem that the Army is trying to move towards a method of not having to replace computers every few years and instead pass that buck of to its Soldier's.
(1)
(0)
SGM (Join to see)
CW3 (Join to see) - The Army is not trying to get out of the replacement lifecycle, so much as it is trying to avoid having to purchase a million machines to have on hand when most Soldiers in all three compos don't need to be on a computer most days to carry out their duties.
FWIW, I have had a take home GFE laptop my entire AGR career, and I also always had my linux laptop set up for remote access, just in case.
And had I been MDAY, I still would have been set up for remote access, because I don't think there's ever a valid reason for an NCOER to be late, and I have too much self-respect and respect for my unit to be the guy who shows up at drill asking what's going on.
FWIW, I have had a take home GFE laptop my entire AGR career, and I also always had my linux laptop set up for remote access, just in case.
And had I been MDAY, I still would have been set up for remote access, because I don't think there's ever a valid reason for an NCOER to be late, and I have too much self-respect and respect for my unit to be the guy who shows up at drill asking what's going on.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google