Remember the days of AKO Webmail? For many within the Department of Defense, that's a chapter that's firmly closed. The move to DoD Enterprise Email, often referred to as Army Enterprise Email, has been a significant undertaking, impacting hundreds of thousands of accounts across various branches like the Army, JS, DISA, and EUCOM. It wasn't just a minor update; it was a strategic shift driven by the realization that the old system's cost and benefit just weren't adding up anymore.
This transition involved a phased deactivation of AKO email accounts, with a notable push to close around 430,000 of them by October 1, 2012. These weren't just random accounts; they belonged to a specific subset of users who were slated to move to the new DoD Enterprise Email platform. The process continued, ensuring that as people migrated, their old AKO accounts were retired. It's important to note that while the AKO email storage and interface were phased out, the familiar @us.army.mil addresses didn't disappear entirely. Emails sent to those addresses were, and still are, automatically forwarded to the new @mail.mil accounts within DoD Enterprise Email. The storage space from the closed AKO accounts was then repurposed for other lifecycle needs.
Now, for many, the key to accessing this new digital world hinges on one crucial item: the Common Access Card, or CAC. Getting your CAC isn't quite as simple as walking into a store. You need a sponsor – someone affiliated with the DoD or a federal agency who can vouch for your need for this ID. This sponsor initiates the process, which involves getting you registered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). If your role changes, say from active duty to a contractor, you'll need to go through that DEERS registration again.
Contractors have an additional layer, needing to be registered in the Trusted Associate Sponsorship System (TASS) by a trusted agent. The background checks that follow are thorough, involving FBI fingerprint checks and a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI). This NACI can take a while, up to eighteen months, but you might get your CAC before it's fully completed, provided your fingerprints come back clean. If, after all that, you're still not cleared, your CAC can be revoked.
Once DEERS registration is complete, the next step is a visit to a Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System (RAPIDS) site. You'll need to bring a couple of things: two forms of identification, one with a photo, both listed on the I-9 Form. You'll also need to pick a PIN – make sure it's not something easily guessable like parts of your Social Security number or birthday. And if you're using a government computer, you'll need your government-instated email address. If you don't have one, your CAC will be issued without an email certificate.
So, how do you actually make the switch to Army Enterprise Email? It's largely managed through Microsoft Exchange, and the requirement is 100% CAC usage when accessing it via the Outlook Web App (OWA) at https://web.mail.mil. Once your CAC is set up, you can log in there to access your new account. If you run into any error messages, it's a sign that your account might still be in the creation process or experiencing an issue. In such cases, reaching out to your helpdesk or organization is the best course of action to get an estimated creation date. If you've confirmed your account is created but still can't access it, a visit to https://status.mail.mil (using your PIV cert or email) can help you check the status of the Defense Enterprise Computing Center (DECC). Once you're successfully on DoD Enterprise Email, you're all set to go.
