Knowledge system helps fight bombs

Army forces in Iraq and Afghanistan continually confront roadside bombs placed by Baath Party and Taliban insurgents. But the soldiers did not always know the latest tactics their enemies used by to attack them.

So, Army commanders and soldiers used the new Battle Command Knowledge System to discuss and exchange information on the threat. The system let them know when the insurgents stopped detonating the crude bombs — called improvised explosive devices (IED) — with wireless phones, said Lt. Gen. Steve Boutelle, the Army's chief information officer/G-6, speaking today at the Knowledge Management Conference held annually by the E-Gov Institute.

The use of the system to combat IED dangers in Iraq and Afghanistan exemplifies the Army's five-year initiative to give tacit knowledge to commanders and troops. The system connects soldiers servicewide so they can more quickly solve problems and develop new warfighting capabilities, Boutelle said.

The military stores 600 terabytes of data in systems or explicit knowledge. The services need to take that information and make it easily available to warfighters to help them fight and win wars, he said.

The system garnered top honors in the 2004 Knowledge Management Awards, announced today and sponsored by the institute. It received the Knowledge Management Supporting Agency Mission award for best aiding a government organization.