Air Force fires up MilMod

The Air Force has launched its new personnel data system and has transferred millions of personnel records into a central database.

The service launched the Military Modernization (MilMod) system last week after "a tentative start," capping a five-year effort to bring the service's personnel systems up-to-date, according to a written announcement. Service officials predicted in late April that they would flip the switch on MilMod in May.

"Although the implementation was delayed by a few days because of some data problems we caught with our final test checks, we're working to make the transition as painless as possible for all our customers," said Lt. Col. Richard Treasure, chief of the systems requirements division at the Air Force Personnel Center, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. "It may be a bit bumpy for a while when they're trying to complete personnel actions."

MilMod replaces the outdated Personnel Data System and uses client/server and relational database management technologies. Oracle Corp. provides the host software.

Under MilMod, users can transmit personnel actions instantly to the Air Force Personnel Center, where employees find the record needed on the database, perform the requested action and then respond to its success or failure. Up to 15,000 users across the Air Force can access MilMod's database.

MilMod will enable Air Force service members to handle much of their personnel business from their desktops, and eventually it will be included as part of the Air Force's portal. Air Force officials say it may be the largest such system in the world and report that Fortune 500 executives are checking it out.

"This kind of sets the cutting-edge standard" in personnel systems, Treasure said.