The Air Force Materiel Command has launched a new mobile application called U.S. Air Force Connect.

Although the USAF Connect app has been available to active duty Air Force personnel since last August, Fairchild Air Force Base, located just west of Spokane, only just began using it late last month.

Arlington, Va.-based Senior Master Sgt. Timm Huffman, manager and content manager and trainer for the Air Force Connect Team, says that delay is likely due to the involved process in localizing content for the app. 

“The app implementation team has pre-staged content for the majority of the wings in the Air Force, and the team is systematically working with the more than 300 eligible organizations to localize content and activate instances,” he says. “Each unit instance has to be developed, and the content must be entered manually with proper care and attention to detail to ensure our airmen have the best available resources.” 

Huffman says the application was created by the Air Force and developed by STRAXiS Technolgy, a mobile application developer based in Tulsa, Okla. 

The application is described as a portal that provides Air Force personnel one location through which to access a wide variety of information from various levels of the Air Force that will enable them to better manage their careers. 

The application is available for download at the Apple App Store and Google Play and includes features such as notifications of news and events, a directory and contact numbers, and access to social media channels. 

Huffman says feedback on the application so far has been positive, with 95 percent of airmen surveyed saying the information is delivered in a useful and convenient format.

According to the Air Force Materiel Command website, the application can’t be used to track individual user locations, and it collects no personal data.