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Air Force computer programmers: unsung heroes

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Daniel Hoffman
  • 375th Communications Support Squadron executive
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  There are entire career fields full of unsung heroes who do not get much time in the spotlight. 

There are many reasons for this, such as the fact that some jobs are not highly visible parts of the Air Force, so the public in general, and even sections of the Air Force, are not even aware that these career fields exist. 

One such career field is Air Force computer programmers. 

There aren't many units that have military coders. Most can be found in communication hubs such as Gunter Air Force Base, Ala. but there are small units dispersed elsewhere in the Air Force, such as the Software Development Flight at Scott. 

Most might assume that if we needed a computer program for the Air Force, we'd just shop around for an existing commercial product or contract it out to a civilian company.
One of the reasons why we don't is grounded in software development. 

To make a program, software developers first have to understand what exactly they are trying to accomplish. 

That might sound fairly obvious, but if you are trying to create a word processing program like Word, you are not just putting text on a screen, but you are also changing font styles and sizes, running spell check, printing documents, etc. 

When you create a program to meet a specific requirement, you create a program that is capable of doing every single little task needed to complete the job you are trying to automate, including handling user mistakes. Now imagine this same, laborious process with a military customer trying to explain a military process they want automated to a civilian company. It's faster and easier to have military members, who are already familiar with how the military works, develop such software. Additionally, having military coders saves time in getting through legal hurdles and red tape. Contractors are limited by the terms of their contract as to what they can do, even if they are willing to help out above and beyond. 

Because of this, some units keep a shop of programmers on hand to rapidly respond to new software requirements or fix bugs in existing software as they arise. Even if a program was error-free, software technology is constantly evolving. 

This brings us to some of the concrete accomplishments of military programmers. Software development produces programs that many of us use on a daily basis. The sign-in kiosk at MPF is an example of software created by military programmers. They not only help Scott, but they are being implemented throughout the command and the Air Force. 

Military computer programmers play a vital role in the fulfillment of our mission. Without them building and maintaining the software tools that are needed in an Air Force that is becoming more sophisticated and smaller in manpower, jobs wouldn't get done, or at least not without great difficulty.