Travis public Web site to change look, function

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Tom Mullican
  • 60th AMW Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Travis public Web site will have a new look and feel to it next week, as it becomes part of the Air Force’s Public Web Program. 

The AFPWP will consolidate all Web content and standardize the appearance of Air Force public sites worldwide. All Air Force Web sites fall under the Air Force Public Web umbrella and will all be standardized by 2008. 

Travis will join Air Mobility Command when it launches about the same time. Other units that launched with similar sites recently as part of the AFPW are Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Force Reserve Command and Air Force Material Command. 

What this means for Travis is all content on the new public site will be dynamic and database driven and not static as the current public site is now. 

“We will no longer create Web pages,” said Capt. Vanessa Hillman, 60th Air Mobility Wing public affairs chief. “This will allow us to focus on our primary job of distributing information to the public.” 

To assist Web site managers, the Air Force has developed a content management tool called Air Force Public Information Management System. This tool will allow content providers to upload their information into templates. 

Each unit that provides information to the current Web site will receive training on AFPIMS. Before the content is loaded, it will go through a review process. That review process includes unit operations security monitor, Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act manager, legal, foreign disclosure office, contracting and unit commander. Once this is accomplished, the provider will load the content, and then public affairs will be the final review process to clear it for public release onto the Web site. 

AFPW is a Secretary of the Air Force for Public Affairs initiative. It centralizes Web content and establishes a global network for all of the Air Force’s public sites, including those originating at major commands, wings and specialty organizations like the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. 

“Many organizations continue to work independently, producing a sizeable network of sites that vary considerably in appearance and content,” said Mr. Les Benito, chief of the Air Force Public Web Division at headquarters Air Force News Agency, San Antonio, Texas. “There is no consistency from one site to the next. And under current guidelines, some content may not be suitable for the public.” 

Currently, AFPW now hosts 26 active sites, about 10 percent of the more than 250 Air Force sites that exist today. 

“Our goal is to have every Air Force public site on board by the summer of 2008,” said Mr. Benito. “We want visitors to easily find Web content, no matter which Air Force site they visit. We want them to recognize an Air Force Web site when they see one, and we’re all focused on getting the job done right, so our Web sites portray the professional image everyone associates with the Air Force.”