KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Mississippi -- Starting tomorrow, Aug. 22, all active Keesler personnel, with the exception of the 81st Medical Group members, will be migrated to the Cloud Hosted Enterprise Service environment by an Air Force migration team.
This migration will increase mailbox sizes from the typical 100MB to 100GB for every user, an increase of 1,000 times the current capacity. Maj. Jon Drummond, 81st Communications Squadron commander said the migration will begin tonight, Aug. 21, and asked users to be patient as some mailboxes may not be fully migrated by the start of business on Aug. 22.
Here are the three steps you need to take in order to have a successful migration:
Step 1: Verify CHES WebMail Access by Logging into Outlook Web Access on a CAC-enabled computer using Internet Explorer. If you were successfully migrated, you will be able to log in and access your email/calendar. If unable to do so, you have not been fully migrated yet and should wait a couple hours before trying again.
Step 2: Restart your computer and open the Outlook application from the Windows start menu or via the search bar. You will receive a pop up. Delete the contents of the sign in box and type your government email in the box. Your mailbox will start to update.
Step 3: Verify Outlook Updates. Once migration is complete you can verify the changes by clicking "file" in Outlook and find the new OWA URL and mailbox size.
While there may be only three steps, there are a couple precautions that are necessary in when making the switch.
- DO NOT enter you CAC PIN while completing the initial login/setup instructions in the trifold.
- Your personal storage files (.PST) will not go away.
- The “Deleted Items” folder will be emptied daily until the migration, but “recover Deleted Items” folder will retain emails for three days.
- Your mailbox WILL NOT be migrated if you’re deployed.
- Units with personnel TDY/traveling for an extended period of time should contact the Comm Focal Point for guidance.
- Desktops, laptops and tablets will be updated automatically when you open or restart Outlook.
- Mobile devices will fail to receive email after migration until they are restarted.
- CHES will not update you Microsoft Office products – you will have the same version of Office you had prior to the migration.
Any specific questions or concerns prior to migration, please contact the Keesler Communications Focal Point by e-mail at 81cs.cfp@us.af.mil.
CHES Trifold