YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- The 374th Communications Squadron at Yokota Air Base is currently conducting a tech refresh for the installation, upgrading existing desktops and laptops to renew warranties and expired software.
Staff Sgt. Sam Oh, the 374th CS NCOIC of information technology asset management, helped spearhead the tech refresh in an effort to provide Team Yokota with faster and better hardware.
“If we don’t refresh the tech, we won't modernize the Air Force,” Oh said. “Imagine you try to execute a plan, but you're waiting on your computer to process. If we aren’t advanced enough, our adversaries will have the advantage.”
The 374th CS conducted research and created a budget for the base-wide tech refresh to find equipment that could best solve recurring issues and fulfill the needs of each unit’s mission.
“We have to make sure all the computers secured for purchase align with what each squadron needs,” Oh said. “So once we lock in the set amount of desktops and laptops, we have to figure out the dollar amount for purchase.”
Oh worked with several squadrons, including finance and contracting, to accomplish the tech refresh, and the process culminated in acquiring approval from the 374th Airlift Wing commander.
With a project as big as the tech refresh, the 374th CS worked overtime and changed processes to accomplish the task efficiently and effectively.
“We devised a way to increase our capabilities,” said 2nd Lt. Ricardo Jiminez, the 374th CS OIC of client systems. “We looked at what could be improved in order to increase output from our devices.”
The tech refresh is still ongoing, with more time needed to provide Team Yokota with a total of nearly two thousand new desktops and laptops. Once delivered, the 374th CS will begin planning for next year’s tech refresh.