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IT provision for Junior Officers

PTP,

Take it from me as a person who helped manage some of the largest secret and restricted Army networks, that you are entering into something you may regret if you try and instigate some sort of "encryption" (be it an off the shelf package or home made") on even a local, isolated LAN.

The first question you will be asked is what exactly you are trying to transmit and that if it is above Unclassified, then why are you not using a DCSA sponsored network which has been properly installed to a set security standard.

This is not just "Big Brotherish", if you tell some users that the network is encrypted, sure as eggs are eggs, people will start transmitting classified data, their argument being that it is a stand alone network, who will get the info?  Again, take it from me that this is a particulary dangerous attitude!!

Seriously, you could be opening a can of worms here and may regret the day you started trying to implement or even trial this system.

Should you want to continue in your persuit, the G6 Branch of your local Bde HQ would be a good place to start (at least get their advice).

Sorry to be so negative, I just want to save you a whole load of potential hassle.
 
Fozzy,
Thanks very much for taking the time on that. I wouldn't want to launch it,without informing the powers that be, and not without them trialling it first.

Believe me, I have taken your comments on board, but really, my question was more..."I've developed a piece of software that may be useful to the MOD, who can I sell it to".....  ;D
 
Yeotanky, It is every junior officers job to administer his soldiers in camp be it welfare, courses or whatever.

Great argument
I seem  to remember that we all managed for the last 1000 years before computers came along and fcuked everything up.
Well then lets not change anything then. Shame we got rid of that musket thing that could really come in useful now in CQB.

Unfortunately times have changed and any documentation not delivered in typed format is binned and requested again. Yeah it would have been nice for the Army to spring for a new laptop when i was a troopy especially a waterproof one as I was expected to keep notes on my soldiers even when in the field.

If this is such a shocking idea why were lap tops issued on AJD ? Gosh maybe we need them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Here here G_S.  ;D

If issuing every YO a laptop is too much to ask for, why not give us an allowance or as the MOD is such a large organisation surely they could provide means where we could purchase such things a trade prices.
 
I am beginning to understand what the problem is, you all wish that you had joined Arthur Andersen or similar, do you want company cars as well?

When I was a YO I went out and bought a Amstrad 9512, this eventually was donated to the Sqn, the IBM that I purchased next accompanied me to my first civvie job and was far in advance of anything being used by that firm of Stock Brokers.  My present firm has wonderful front office kit but is still running early DOS type programmes for client files etc. (it is the biggest US bank).  However, my home computer is still more up to date than the laptop I am typing this on, the cost of replacing such items across my  firm which employs about 60,000 pople is prohibitive, especially in this business climate.

If you are incapable of keeping notes on your soldiers on exercise, or in camp for that matter, without a Laptop, heaven help us all!

I understand that much paperwork is requested in any number of formats.  In my day (not that long ago) we had SD templates and we somehow managed to run our troops in camp, on exercise and at war.  

I agree that bulk purchase offers might be an option (but never at cost as this may be construed as a  benefit in kind, ie, you might get charged tax on it) and am suprised that the hand book of discounts does not already have a few offers.

Please get a grip on reality, there is no way that the Army should or could pay for YOs laptops .  I am not against change but this is not change it is purely a case of keeping up with your civvie chums

Please remember that your chums in civvie street who have shiny laptops, company cars etc. actually make money for thier employers, if they did not they would quickly be on the dole minus the above.
 
No, It's you who's missing the point.

We don't all want shiny laptops and we certainly don't want to take them on exercise. What we do need is some sort of IT which will run at least MS Word so that we can do our jobs properly, by producing all the CRs, MYAs and other paperwork which is required of us.

Yes, we all get by through buying our own machines, as you say you did, but that isn't the way it ought to be.
 
Yes, I have bought a laptop, but it's entirely irrelevant to this discussion.

My point remains that we should be provided with the necessary IT resources to do our jobs, and a desktop which is sufficiently powerful to run MS Word would be fine. At present, as I've said before, we haven't reached this level, and it's about time we did.
 
To be fair to both of us as we now seem to be having an ongoing discussion.

The original discussion started wiyth a demand for computers for YOs, this was supported by you and a number of others.  As the discussion grew it is apparent that the Army should not be considering laptops for YOs and we seem to have achieved consensus on this point.

Provision of computers at Sqn/Coy level is another matter entirely.  In my experience when you really need a computer as an officer to do your job you get one, ie at Bde, Div and ARRC etc.  The quality may be questionable and the operating system ancient but that can and does happen in civvie life.  

The problem with IT provision below Bde level is the real use it would be put to.  We do not, I hope, want our YOs and SNCOs sat in front of computers all day.  The Sqn clerk does most of daily usage and he should have some sort of decent IT provision by now, even if it is a hand me down.  The short term solution would seem to be that Sqn funds could be used to buy a cheap desk top that fulfills your report and returns requirements.  This way at least it can be kept up to date.

If the Army undertakes a major IT project it gets bogged down (as can be seen from some of the posts above) in security and the "I wish it could do this" brigade - which is how you end up with such masterpieces as Wavell and UNICOM.

I understand the the New Management System tranfers budget decisions to unit level and here is a classic case for COs to grasp the nettle and provide computers within the Regt.  Or even Regt. Trustees to make it happen.

If we sit back and wait to be issued computers what we get will be out of date and will never satisfy everyone.  It is a bit of a surrender but I think in this case it is the only answer.  Many civvie companies have equally bad procurement procedures.  It should also be remembered that the cost of providing computers in civvie street is borne eventually by the consumer and or the employee.
 
You've got the idea. It remains, sadly a fact of life in the modern army that as an armoured troop leader I have to spend at least two hours (+-) every day writing letters, reports or other paperwork.

Maybe YeoTanky is right, and we should not be required to do this volume of admin, but until this workload is removed, it remains crucial for YOs to get access to, if not ownership of, a decent computer.
 
In reply to the last, if he sees his key job as an administrator in camp he is doing it wrong.

So YeoTanky, what exactly do you expect YOs to do whilst in barracks? You appear to have lost touch with reality. Being a wage slave must have fried your brain.
 
In answer to modacs

I always understood that YOs were leaders, ie Troop Leaders, Platoon Commanders etc. if you want to spend all your time in camp administrating I suggest you leave and become a "wage slave".  By the way I understand that Yo's also get paid!!!!!

Maybe the reason why so many "modern" soldiers are so disaffected is that the army has become the home of the adminstator, more concerned with computer generated reports than with good old fashioned leadership.  Here I make no distinction between YOs and OOs!!!

And, amazing as it seems, we also had to produce reports etc. in the dark days of the early 90's, the difference appears to be that we did it in the evenings in our own time.  And funnily enough now that I am in the Yeomanry I still do all my admin work in my own time after work!!!!

So Modacs get two jobs and see how us wage slaves reallly get on.
 
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