How Blogging is Transforming the Defense Department

Lt. Col. Mark Tribus discussed the role blogs are playing in sharing knowledge and in transforming the Armed Forces. CompanyCommander.com is helping the Army become a more flexible institution that can share information easily, in and out of the field and across borders, without the bureaucracy slowing it down. Perhaps most remarkable of all, the blog was conceived and developed in an institution that is famously rigid, hierarchical, and not open to sharing information.

Company Commander.com is the most dynamic blog the Army is using today, according to Tribus:
- CompanyCommander.com is an ongoing electronic discussion forum in which company commanders share information, enhance the way they learn, transmit experiences, identify the learning curve. It is an Integrated Learning Model.
- The site enhances the speed at which knowledge is transmitted. Commanders now have a medium for disseminating knowledge without having to go through a 12-month chain of command process.
- The forum is self-policing. If someone posts unsound advice or inaccurate information, other people correct it.

CompanyCommander.com has taken off in a new security and institutional environment:

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Posted by Scott Karp at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Realities of Military Personnel Transformation

A distinguished panel of military leaders engaged in a frank discussion of the challenges that the military faces with personnel transformation: Lt. Gen. John Bradley, Chief, Air Force Reserve, U.S. Air Force; Dr. David Chu, Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), U.S. Department of Defense; Vice Adm. John Harvey, Chief of Naval Personnel, U.S. Navy; Dan Denning, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Training, Readiness and Mobilization.

Admiral Harvey gave a striking example of the challenge at hand, comparing naval platforms of the past, present, and future:

Qunicy CA-71
Commissioned: Dec 1943
Crew: 1142
Sensor Range: 60 miles
Weapon Range: 18 miles
Battlespace Awareness: 60 miles

- Small cadre of highly skilled crewmembers
- Much of crew was effectively cannon fodder
- 1000 young white men – all others were limited to cooking and cleaning

Cape St Geogere (CG71)
Commissioned: June 1993
Crew: 380
Sensor Range: 256 miles
Weapon Range: 800 miles
Battlespace Awareness: Theater wide

- Much more highly trained crew, but still possible to operate fully without 10%
- Reflects diversity of nation, but still heavily white and male

CG (X) 71
Commissioned: In development
Crew: 150
Sensor Range: 500+ miles
Weapons Range: 1000+ miles
Battlespace Awareness: Global GIG

- Dramatic increase in capabilities requires dramatic increase in crew capabilities, and every crewmember is absolutely essential.

Here are some other key comments from the panel:

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Posted by Scott Karp at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)