MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- The cutover to the Navy Marine Corps Intranet has been sweeping the Depot and providing its users with a more secure service and better support.
Intranet service changes began Jan. 21, providing some Depot users with a more secure service environment; however, there are precautions and regulations that need to be followed for it to run properly.
After the cutover is complete, the individuals must log on to the network using a generic password and then submit their new password. They then must follow that by filling out the User Awareness Information Form.
"If the user did not go to the orientation then they don't know how to log in properly," said Gunnery Sgt. Richard Morris Jr., installations chief for Communication Infor-mation Systems.
"That form has to get filled out because it tells you the serial number, the tag number and the machine name," said Morris.
For security purposes this form also has a secret pin number and a secret name that Morris compared with credit card information verification.
"They are going to ask for your pin number or your [secret] name, only you are going to know that," he said. "If you call NMCI prior to sending that, they are not going to help you."
The service provides its users with a more complete service that is running from a centralized focus.
"Everybody is on the same sheet of music," said Morris. "It is all standardized. You can take your account with you anywhere you go in the Marine Corps or any military installation that you go to, as long as NMCI is there."
Individuals can also check their e-mail from any machine at any time, without setting up a new profile, said Morris. All they need to do is log in, which is very similar to what one would do for an Internet e-mail account.
Until everyone is using the network it is a little complicated, but it will help us all when it comes to security issues, said Cpl. Kelly McCradic, legal clerk, H&S Bn., who was a recent NMCI cutover.
With e-mail becoming more common and easier to use, the same concept of easy access is being devoted to updating software. NMCI has a simple, hands-off fix for the ever-changing world of computer software.
"Software updates come automatically at night so you don't have to worry about that at all," said Morris.
That ease of access is a common phrase throughout the NMCI network and is also
used when service members need new or different software.
According to Morris, all one has to do is submit a request to computer and Information Systems on Parris Island, and wait for approval, and if approved will then get pushed through the network to your machine.
"For [most] shops it will help out a lot because it gives them access to other programs that they won't have to pay for," said McCradic.
This is yet another of the new security aspects controlling the network.
"You don't have to worry about pirated software or licensing issues, all of that is done for you," said Morris.
Along with software updates NMCI will also take care of any hardware updates. Morris sees the current turnover on hardware as a rapidly changing environment and when a piece of hardware is obsolete, NMCI will upgrade it to the current standards.
"When you can buy a computer one year and the next it is outdated [that becomes a problem]," said McCradic. "I think [the upgrades are] definitely going to help the Marine Corps update their speed and technology."