Straight Talk: Happy New Year!

  • Published
  • By Col. Stacy L. Yike
  • 66th Air Base Group commander
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and healthy holiday season. We have lots of great events lined up for this week. Jan. 7 is First Friday at the Minuteman Club. It will feature a buffet that's free for members and $5 for nonmembers. Next Friday, Jan. 14, we will have a breakfast to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Come join us!

Question: Our directorate had an IT Response Support Team that provided support from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., as many of our team members come to work at 6 a.m., to handle issues such as CAC cards being blocked, a program not working, a printer not working, not receiving and sending e-mails, etc. The consolidated team now only supports us from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The consolidated team could provide more efficient, cost effective support if they supported the base from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thanks for your consideration.

Response: Your concerns have not gone unnoticed. Currently, the technical support telephone line, available at 3-HELP, is limited to 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but we have found that is not the best way to serve the needs of our customer base. The Communication Directorate (SC) has people available during the hours you are requesting, but we don't have a good way for you to reach them at the moment. We are working that issue. SC will upgrade the technical support telephone system and then the early and late technicians will be available via the technical support number hopefully later this month.

In the meantime, here are two workarounds for you. For the planners (those that get information before you have a problem), e-mail response@hanscom.af.mil or call 3-HELP between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and they can provide contact information for technical support based on your location. You can keep that information handy and pull it out when you need it. For the just-in-time folks (those that get information when you have a problem), just call the Command Post at 781-377-5144. The super sharp controllers can connect you to the appropriate person quickly to resolve your computer issue.

Kudos: Kudos to the auto hobby shop. I recently had the misfortune of having car troubles and knew that I had to get it looked at soon. After receiving several repair quotes off base, I remembered that the base had an auto hobby shop. The price they quoted was less than half of the off base quotes, and they were able to get my car in for repairs almost immediately. Because of the professionalism and the quality of care the employees at the hobby shop showed, I will definitely be a repeat customer. I'm not sure if many people on base are aware that we do have an auto hobby shop, but if they need a vehicle repair, that's the place to go. Thanks to the mechanics for a job well done!

Response: Thank you for the great feedback! Everyone who works on Hanscom has access to the auto hobby shop, and remember, club members also get a 10 percent discount at this and other services facilities. AAFES gas station also offers great services, such as oil changes, for Hanscom military members. Shop local.