Network Infrastructure Systems

You are training to be a Network Infrastructure Systems Specialist — the Air Force's specialist for physical and logical network infrastructure. While 2E1X1 focuses on systems and applications, you specialize in the cables, switches, routers, transmission systems, and network infrastructure that physically connects Air Force installations.

Complete 2E1X2 initial skills training at Keesler AFB, MS. Learn network infrastructure — physical layer cabling (fiber optic, copper), network switching and routing equipment installation and maintenance, microwave and satellite transmission systems, base communications infrastructure, and the telecommunications systems that provide voice and data connectivity to Air Force installations. Study outside plant communications — the cable runs, junction boxes, manholes, and communications infrastructure that spans a base. Learn to install, terminate, and test fiber optic cables. Develop the skills to diagnose and repair physical layer communications failures.

• 01Fiber optic cable installation and termination, network infrastructure installation (switches, routers), microwave and satellite transmission systems fundamentals, outside plant communications infrastructure, cable testing and certification, physical layer troubleshooting, DoD network architecture

• —AFI 17-1301, applicable communications infrastructure technical publications, Keesler AFB 2E1X2 training publications, applicable TIA/EIA cabling standards, CompTIA Network+ (baseline certification)

• —Pass 2E1X2 initial training; CompTIA Network+ or equivalent obtained; fiber optic termination demonstrated to standard; network equipment installation correct; outside plant infrastructure maintenance basics demonstrated; initial unit certifications completed

• —Installing fiber optic cables or copper cabling without testing and certifying the installation — a cable that appears installed correctly but fails certification testing is a problem that will cause intermittent network failures that are difficult to diagnose because the physical layer failure is not obvious.

An apprentice who tests and documents every cable installation with a cable certification tester — building the habit of verified performance documentation that protects both the network and the technician who installed it when faults are discovered later.

You are a qualified Network Infrastructure Systems Specialist maintaining the physical and logical network infrastructure that connects your installation.

Perform installation and maintenance of network infrastructure at your assigned installation. Maintain and repair the physical plant — fiber optic cables, copper cabling, outside plant infrastructure, telecommunications closets, distribution frames. Install and configure network switching and routing equipment. Maintain satellite and microwave transmission systems. Respond to network infrastructure failures. Support construction and renovation projects that affect communications infrastructure. Develop expertise in specific infrastructure types — fiber optic systems, wireless infrastructure, or transmission systems. Maintain required certifications.

• 01Fiber optic plant maintenance and repair, network equipment installation and configuration, outside plant infrastructure maintenance, satellite/microwave transmission maintenance, infrastructure failure response, construction project communications coordination, specialized certification development

• —AFI 17-1301, applicable infrastructure technical publications, DISA infrastructure standards, unit communications squadron operating instructions, applicable TIA/EIA standards

• —Infrastructure maintained to certification standards; outages responded to within established timeframes; installations tested and documented to certification standard; construction coordination effective; specialized certifications current

• —Performing repairs on outdoor infrastructure without adequately protecting the repair from the weather and rodent damage that will cause the same failure again within months — temporary fixes that become permanent problems are a chronic pattern in outside plant maintenance.

A SrA who documents every outside plant repair with photographs — recording the damage type, the repair method, and the verified post-repair test results — creating a maintenance history that helps the next technician understand the infrastructure's history when a related problem occurs.

You are a senior Network Infrastructure Systems Specialist developing advanced qualifications and training the technicians who maintain Air Force communications infrastructure.

Perform advanced infrastructure maintenance and develop toward team lead and senior specialist qualifications. Train junior specialists on physical layer installation, testing, and maintenance procedures. Evaluate trainee performance. Lead complex infrastructure projects — base network expansions, building rewires, fiber optic extension projects. Develop expertise in transmission systems — satellite terminals, microwave systems, or advanced networking infrastructure. Interface with base civil engineering on construction projects that affect communications infrastructure. Develop and maintain as-built documentation for base infrastructure.

• 01Complex infrastructure project leadership, junior specialist training and evaluation, transmission systems specialization, civil engineering interface for communications impact, as-built documentation maintenance, advanced fiber optic system expertise

• —AFI 17-1301, DISA infrastructure standards, applicable fiber optic and transmission technical publications, civil engineering coordination procedures, unit infrastructure documentation standards

• —Complex infrastructure projects completed to specification; junior specialists trained to standard; transmission systems maintained within operational parameters; civil engineering coordination effective; as-built documentation current; team lead qualifications demonstrated

• —Allowing as-built documentation to fall behind actual infrastructure changes — the base where the cable maps don't reflect what was actually installed makes every subsequent repair or expansion harder than it needs to be and creates the risk of cutting cables that should have been avoided.

An SSgt who treats infrastructure documentation as a continuous responsibility — updating as-built records whenever infrastructure changes are made, maintaining a base infrastructure map that any qualified technician can use to understand what is installed and where.

You are the Network Infrastructure section NCOIC, responsible for the physical communications infrastructure program and the technicians who maintain it.

Serve as the network infrastructure section NCOIC. Own the infrastructure maintenance program, personnel qualification standards, and as-built documentation system. Brief the communications squadron commander on infrastructure health, capacity constraints, and any critical infrastructure vulnerabilities. Coordinate with base civil engineering and base planning on construction and renovation projects that affect communications infrastructure. Interface with MAJCOM communications on infrastructure standards and modernization. Manage the outside plant maintenance program across the base. Lead the section's response to major infrastructure failures.

• 01Section NCOIC duties, outside plant maintenance program management, base construction coordination, MAJCOM interface on infrastructure standards, as-built documentation system management, major failure response leadership, capacity planning advisory

• —AFI 17-1301, DISA infrastructure standards, applicable base infrastructure publications, civil engineering coordination procedures

• —Base infrastructure maintained to DISA standards; construction projects communicated before infrastructure impact; as-built documentation current; MAJCOM interface productive; major failures responded to and documented; capacity constraints reported proactively

• —Not maintaining a current infrastructure capacity assessment — the base where the communications infrastructure is running at or near capacity in critical segments will experience outages during peak demand periods that could have been prevented if the capacity constraint had been identified and addressed proactively.

A TSgt who presents the communications squadron commander with an annual infrastructure health assessment — documenting which cable plants and transmission systems are approaching end-of-life, which segments have capacity constraints, and what investment is needed to maintain reliable communications infrastructure over the next 5 years.

You are the senior Network Infrastructure NCO at the wing or command level, advising commanders on physical communications infrastructure health and capacity.

Serve as the wing communications squadron superintendent or MAJCOM infrastructure NCO. Advise commanders on base communications infrastructure health, capacity, modernization needs, and the maintenance workforce required to sustain aging infrastructure. Interface with DISA and MAJCOM on infrastructure standards, upgrade programs, and new construction guidance. Manage complex personnel actions in the infrastructure specialist community. Contribute to Air Force communications infrastructure policy. As 1stSgt, own the welfare and discipline of the communications infrastructure formation.

• 01Wing/command infrastructure oversight, DISA and MAJCOM interface, infrastructure modernization advisory, workforce development for physical layer skills, communications infrastructure policy contribution, complex personnel management, senior enlisted advisory

• —AFI 17-1301, DISA infrastructure standards publications, MAJCOM communications directorate infrastructure publications, applicable base infrastructure investment guidance

• —Wing infrastructure meeting operational reliability requirements; DISA and MAJCOM relationships productive; infrastructure modernization needs documented and submitted; workforce physical layer skills maintained; personnel actions appropriate

• —Accepting aging infrastructure as an inevitability without building the formal documentation of infrastructure health and capacity that makes modernization investment cases to leadership — old infrastructure that is never formally assessed and documented as a risk never generates the urgency that drives replacement funding.

An MSgt who has built a formal infrastructure health assessment process — documenting the age, condition, capacity, and replacement timeline of major infrastructure elements across the wing in a format that leadership can use to make informed investment decisions.

You are the most senior Network Infrastructure enlisted leader, shaping the career field that maintains the physical connectivity that Air Force operations depend on.

Serve as the MAJCOM or Air Staff network infrastructure career field functional manager or senior enlisted advisor. Shape training standards and the pipeline producing infrastructure specialists capable of maintaining increasingly complex communications physical plant. Advise four-star commanders and Air Staff leadership on base infrastructure health across the command, modernization investment needs, and the workforce requirements for sustaining aging infrastructure while integrating new technology. Interface with DISA on Air Force infrastructure compliance. Contribute to doctrine for communications infrastructure in expeditionary and austere environments.

• 01Career field functional management, DISA institutional engagement, base infrastructure modernization advisory, expeditionary infrastructure doctrine, four-star advisory, pipeline oversight, infrastructure investment advocacy

• —MAJCOM and Air Staff communications publications, DISA infrastructure standards, applicable Joint Chiefs communications infrastructure publications, DoD base infrastructure planning publications

• —Career field producing infrastructure specialists for current and emerging technology; DISA compliance maintained; base infrastructure modernization needs formally documented at Air Staff level; expeditionary infrastructure doctrine applicable; four-star advisory accurate

• —Allowing the career field's training to lag the technology transition from copper to fiber, from on-premise to cloud, and from static to software-defined networking — each of these transitions changes what skills infrastructure specialists need, and the pipeline that is still training primarily for 2010 technology is not producing the workforce that 2030 infrastructure will require.

A CMSgt who has mapped the infrastructure technology transition curve — identifying which technologies will replace current infrastructure elements within 5-10 years and working with AETC to ensure the training pipeline incorporates those technologies before operational units are expected to install and maintain them without preparation.