Active Military Operations Longer writeup

Unit IT Operations

Apr 2015 - Present

235th Combat Airfield Operations Squadron

Informal Unit IT Specialist

Serve as the 235th CAOS's informal IT resource, maintaining SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, Outlook, and Microsoft 365 workflows that support documentation, meetings, permissions, and day-to-day unit operations.

Worth noting

A few things I would call out

  1. Designs and builds SharePoint pages for squadron operations, documentation, and information management with no formal IT role or budget.
  2. Supports Teams deployment and configuration, OneDrive migration needs, Outlook troubleshooting, and printer setup to keep members operational.
  3. Bridges the gap between slow official Air Force IT channels and the unit's day-to-day digital and network support needs.

01 // What was getting in the way

Guard units often rely on Microsoft 365 tools without having dedicated local IT personnel to maintain them. When SharePoint pages, Teams access, OneDrive sync, Outlook setup, printers, or local connectivity break, day-to-day operations can slow down quickly.

02 // What I did

I stepped into the informal IT role by applying civilian technology experience to unit-level operational needs.

The support model includes:

  • building and maintaining SharePoint pages for documentation, rosters, training tracking, and information management
  • supporting Teams deployment and configuration across channels, permissions, meeting rooms, connectivity, and guest access
  • assisting with OneDrive migrations and file access issues tied to unit collaboration needs
  • troubleshooting Outlook issues, printer setup problems, and routine network connectivity issues
  • providing first-line Microsoft 365 troubleshooting when official channels are too slow for routine unit needs

03 // What changed

Sustained day-to-day digital reliability for the unit by reducing avoidable Microsoft 365 disruptions and keeping SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive workflows usable for operations. This improved access to mission information, reduced time lost to routine tooling issues, and gave members a more dependable collaboration baseline despite limited formal IT support.