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Operation Tech Swap

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jared Duhon
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Everyday Team Dover's mission is delivering today's airlift and forging tomorrow's leaders. The fastestOne way to do that is by replacing old worn computers with new, faster and more secure computers with implementation of new technologies.

Airmen at the 436th Communications Squadron are upgrading computers as well as finding ways to safely implement new technology for Team Doverdoing this everyday onat Dover Air Force Base, Del.

"It is my job to find the oldest computers on the network and get them updated," said Krystal Henry, 436th Communications Squadron Base Equipment Control Officer. "Once funds are allocated from Air Mobility Command to use for tech refresh, we inform the shop, swap old computers for freshly built new ones and take care of the old ones."

Computers contain material that can be recycled and hard drives which hold personal information.
"The old computers are turned into Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services and recycled for parts," said Staff Sgt. Brandon Talmadge, 436th Communications Squadron NCO in charge of client systems. "Hard drives do have a small amount of gold. Before we pass them to DLADS we process them which involve two machines: a degausser and the crusher."

Hard drives use magnetic recording techniques to record data and a degausser works to eliminate the magnetic fields of the disks and servos destroying the hard drives ability to read and write information as well as deleting information on the drives.

"Once the hard drives are done in the degausser it goes to the crusher," said Talmadge. "The crusher securely holds the hard drives in place while a bar drops down to break the hard drives."

Once the drives are broken they are put into a blue bin. The bins are then taken to a caged area where pallets are built. Once 25 pallets are made DLADS is called in to pick it up.

"We turned in $2.9 million in assets to DLADS throughout 2012," Talmadge. "Also, the base has 131 information technology equipment custodians across the base."

Each custodian is in charge of the computers and computer related technology for their area.

"The custodians sign for each computer and are responsible for them," Henry. "There is $14 million in assets on base: desktop computers, laptops, slates and printers."
Team Dover has an important mission and the tech swap speeds up productivity and keeps the Air Force on the cutting edge.