The military and Y2K.

• Author: Middleton, Saundra
• Position: Year 200 transition problem

For some in the military, the millennium bug is the enemy that must be squashed. The advantage is the predictability of the Y2K attack on January 1, 2000.

With a $2.5 billion estimated price tag for Y2K remediation, the Department of Defense is taking Y2K very seriously. If left unchecked, rollover glitches can hinder computerized defense functions such as:

* The mobilizing, deploying and maneuvering of forces

* Intelligence, surveillance and security procedures

* The operation of embedded computers within weapon systems

While main military branch headquarters direct Y2K work on weapons and informational systems, specific installations were ordered to concentrate on issues pertinent to their turf.

All branches of the military in Alaska, including the National Guard and Coast Guard, are overseen by Alaska Command (ALCOM). Their Y2K program includes 237 mission critical systems. Of primary concern, states Major Kurt Norby, chief of automation and networks for ALCOM, are life support systems like heat, electricity and maintaining communications. Of those 237 systems, 167 are compliant, 52 will be compliant by year-end, five will be decommissioned and 13 others are still being evaluated.

Norby estimates $4.2 million has already been spent for Alaska's military Y2K project, with an additional $2 million needed to complete the fixes.

Major Charlie Dunn, Y2K program manager for North American Aerospace Defense Command, Alaska region, states his objective clearly: "The mission is always going to come first. We are not going to risk our national interest due to a perceived or potential Y2K problem."

Helping Civilians

With most of the work behind them, Dunn says much of their current focus is on contingency planning to assist the civilian sector. He states that all the Alaska bases and 20 remote sites are being evaluated to see how they can accommodate a large influx of civilians in case of emergency. For instance, Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks is evaluating what would be needed to accommodate 40,000 civilians in case things go haywire.

Military crisis action teams have practiced 25 scenarios to test contingency plans and coordination. Scenarios range from local LAN failure to queries from commercial airliners for a secondary landing strip.

Concentrating their efforts in much the same way, Alaska's Army National Guard has named their Y2K efforts Operation Bug Byte. Working closely with the state's Department of Emergency Services, The Guard...