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Show Hilltop 4 TIMES HILLTOP TIMES May 29, 2014 Technology offers more 'face time' with commandel BY STAFF SGT. TORRI INGALSBE Air Force Public Affairs Agency Operating Location-P WASHINGTON — New advances in digital technology now allow commanders to speak directly to Airmen, despite geographical separation. The Global Content Delivery Service, or GCDS, is a realtime video moderated forum, which enables Airmen to ask questions, receive information and engage in face-to-face conversations with commanders from their individual work stations, anywhere in the world. "The biggest impact is that Airmen who traditionally haven't been privy to information at a conference or seminar can now have live access to presentations, briefings, etc.," said Capt. Ken Malloy, who does strategic outreach for Lt. Gen. Michael Basla, the office of the Secretary of the Air Force Information Dominance and Chief Information Officer. "Airmen can interact with briefers and other participants as opposed to recorded sessions. Commanders can reach out to all their Airmen without geographical considerations as long as they have access to the (Department of Defense) network." The technology, which was the result of concerted efforts from Air Force cyber professionals, the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Defense Media Activity, Air Force Space Command and industry, has already successfully been used in three major events, reaching more than 10,000 Airmen and saving approximately $5.3 million in temporary duty costs. One of these events included the first online "Air Force logistics day." In October of last year, Lt. Gen. Judith Fedder, Air Force deputy chief of logistics, installations and mission support, hosted the engagement which allowed members across the global Air Force logistics community to connect through the use of the GCDS presenter capability. The online collaboration capability delivered presentations between two separate sites -- Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and The Pentagon - in a live virtual conference. Participants could see presenters and presentations from both sites and ask questions using the text submission feature. At its peak, this event connected 1,175 participants from 15 locations. "The overwhelming positive feedback coupled with the enormous TDY cost savings and global audience reach, provides opportunities for other Air Force organizations to capitalize on this game-changing resource," Fedder said. The GCDS differs from other video conferencing systems in both its cost-saving capability and allowing for a larger audience size. "Benefits include getting messages by senior AF leaders more widely disseminated and streaming video, noting the only limitations to the system exist in the users' network ca-"111 pabilities. Anyone with access to a DOD network can participate in GCDS-hosted events, including Airmen who are serving in contingency operations. "DCO and VTC are still viable collaborative tools, but GCDS can reach a broader au-_.1 dience where controlling access to the online video isn't a...i requirement," Malloy said. The GCDS came at a time when two public affairs-led studies showed Airmen want information delivered to them directly and preferably faceto-face. "The Air Force is leveraging existing technology to connect leaders with the field and save the Air Force money," Basla said. "This is a smart way to do business, and I encourage leadership at all levels to take advantage of this valuable online collaboration capability." "The biggest impact is that Airmen who traditionally haven't been privy to information at a conference or seminar can now have live access to presentations, briefings, etc." ¥MI — CAPT. KEN MALLOY Strategic outreach for Lt. Gen. Michael Basla, the office of the Secretary of the Air Force Information Dominance and Chief Information Officer live," Malloy said. "Its global nature permits wider audiences for conferences and media engagements. Malloy explained the GCDS is similar to watching an online -1 Eligible officers may apply for advanced degree, experience programs BY DEBBIE GILDEA Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIORANDOLPH, Texas 4 Eligible active duty officers interested in 2015 advanced academic degree and experience broadening opportunities can now apply for various developmental programs, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced. Some officers may also be eligible to apply for instructor pipeline programs with the U.S. Air Force Academy and Air Force Institute of Technology. "The Advanced Academic Degree and Special Experience Exchange Duties program helps us deliberately develop Airmen by focusing on the right education, training and experience at the right time in their careers," said Sophia Barnard, with the AFPC staff and special duty assignments branch. "It also helps us foster warfighting competencies in world-class leaders." Available programs include the Air Force Institute of Technology or Naval Risk management central to Critical Days of Summer Postgraduate School, Education with Industry, Space Lift Education and Crossover Program, Space Acquisition Exchange Program, Acquisition and Intelligence Experience Exchange Tour, Acquisition and Logistics Experience Exchange Tour, Comptroller Operation Logistics Tour, U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School, Program for Acquisition and Contracting Exchange, Logistics Career Broadening Program, Financial Management and Contracting Exchange Program, Missile Operations and Missile Maintenance Exchange Program and the Information Officer Engineering Exchange. Officers must submit a completed Air Force Form 3849, PlVIE/AFIT/R1111 Officer Worksheet, to the appropriate agencies by suspense dates identified in the 2015 AAD/SPEED Guide, available on the myPers website. For more information and complete application instructions, go to myPers, select "search all components" in the drop down menu and enter "AAD/ SPEED" in the search window. MILITARY ACTIVE RESERVE $500 OFF ANY SUV BY NATALIE ESLINGER Air Force Safety Center Public Affairs KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. 4 The 2014 Critical Days of Summer, May 23 - Sept. 2, focuses on risk management for all summer activities 4 on and off duty. This year's theme, "Risk: Double checks, not second thoughts," reminds Airmen to be responsible wingmen and to take care of themselves, their families, and their teammates. Last year's Critical Days of Summer ended with the loss of 21 Airmen. There have already been 27 fatalities this fiscal year as of May 15. According to Bill Parsons, the Air Force chief of ground safety, every Airman has a role in reversing that trend with a summer of zero fatalities. 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