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Wokka wokka PACMAN debuts at Kadena

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christopher Marasky
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
Kadena will soon be using PACMAN, but this new system is more interested in streamlining the way official correspondence is processed than in chomping pac-dots and gobbling up ghosts. 

The Package Management system is in the early stages of functionality here at Kadena, and soon it will become the standard method for processing and coordinating official electronic correspondence. 

"PACMAN is an information sharing tool which allows us to process electronic packages including EPRs, OPRs, decorations and staff summary sheets," said Capt. Jonathan Williams, 18th Communications Squadron officer in charge of network operations. "It gives us a way to route those documents around the wing electronically." 

PACMAN is a web-based system that logs in each user based on their common access card, allowing them to instantly see all reports that are associated with them. 
The system was created at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska and was adopted at Kunsan Air Base, Korea before being brought here to Kadena. 

"The people we spoke to at both of those bases just loved it because it was so easy to use," said Captain Williams. "It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes for the average user to log-in, see what they need to do, take care of it and pass it along to the next person." 

In order to determine the best program for Kadena, the 18th CS spoke to a number of other bases, and commands to determine the best solution available. 

"There are other e-routing systems out there," said Captain Williams. "We talked to U.S. Air Forces in Europe and they have good stuff, but a lot of it was expensive or just not quite developed. Then we came across what Elmendorf and Kunsan were using, and decided that PACMAN was the way to go." 

PACMAN will replace the current system of using the Microsoft Outlook task function to route reports and decorations, which has been plagued with a number of issues since implementation, said Captain Williams. 

"We had a lot of complaints about Outlook from people saying they didn't receive it [the task], while the other would say that they had sent it," he said. "Outlook didn't perform as well as we had hoped, because it just wasn't designed to work in the way we we're trying to force it to be used." 

The adoption of PACMAN here at Kadena will assist with the on-time rates of reports and decorations, while saving man-hours at the same time, said Staff Sgt. Maria Jenkins, 18th Force Support Squadron NCO in charge of the 18th Civil Engineer and Medical groups evaluations. 

"From implementation, man-hours will be reduced based on the fact that there will be one system for all users," she said. "With training, time and effort, this system can reduce man-hours up to 50 percent or even more depending on how each unit utilizes the system." 

Despite its name, the objective of the PACMAN system is to provide a user-friendly system and improve the efficiency of official correspondence, while not "eating" reports and decorations. 

"This will make things easier for the individual," said Captain Williams, "which will hopefully translate to better time lines and help get the wing back on track in regards to packages."