Air Force tracks knowledge

Because warfighting is one of the most rapidly changing learning environments in the military, keeping track of who knows what can mean the difference between life and death.

That's why the Air Force Information Warfare Center (AFIWC) started using a learning management system from Plateau Systems Ltd. to map and account for all its personnel's knowledge.

The goal of this "knowledge readiness" initiative is to capture all of the pieces of individual knowledge an AFIWC commander needs to immediately respond to changes in mission requirements and deploy the proper forces.

The AFIWC, part of the service's Air Intelligence Agency, provides intelligence and Air Force information to operations worldwide and has to rapidly create needs assessments and respond to crises and battle scenarios.

The center's commander, Col. Arthur Wachdorf, said AFIWC personnel "are the single Air Force focal point for information warfare, [and must] stay on the cutting edge of information technology and employment."

The system is designed to consolidate training and other mission-critical information into a single knowledge repository, said Paul Sparta, chairman and chief executive officer of Plateau. It will manage data on all personnel, ranging from training histories to foreign language skills to special work experience — anything a commander requires to immediately assess the readiness of an individual for a specific mission.

The system also will schedule, manage and deliver a variety of training and educational materials for AFIWC personnel.