Troops short cut the lessons learned process using the net

Strategy Page:

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The military has become a lot more responsive to "what the troops want" in the last decade, since the Internet became widely available. What happened was simple. The troops got on line, found each other and have been sharing opinions and experiences, getting to know each other, and doing it all very quickly. The most striking example of this is how it has changed the speed with which new weapons and equipment get into service. Troops have always bought superior commercial equipment, usually from camping and hunting suppliers. And a lot more of that gear has been available in the last decade. Because the word now gets around so quickly via the net, useful new gear is quickly purchased by thousands of troops. After September 11, 2001, with a war on, having the best gear was seen by more troops as a matter of life and death. This quickly got back to politicians, journalists and the military bureaucrats responsible for buying gear for the troops. The quality of the "official issue" gear skyrocketed like never before because of the Internet pressure.

But the troops also exchanged information on tactics and techniques, as well as anything else they knew that could help keep them alive in combat. This alarmed the Department of Defense, which put some restrictions on active duty bloggers. The troops did not fight back, as, once reminded, they understood that, in public forums, anyone could read what they were saying, including the enemy. So a lot of this information continued to be exchanged email and private message boards. The military got into the act by establishing official message boards, for military personnel only, where useful information could be discussed and exchanged. All this rapid information sharing has had an enormous impact on the effectiveness of the troops, something that has largely gone unnoticed by the mass media.

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There is more. This information sharing increases the efficiency of the troops and the commanders should embrace it and learn to work with it.

This piece by Sydney Freeberg in the National Journal gives a more comprehensive look at the rapid trnsformation of the infantryman as a fighting system. It is a must read, if you are interested in what our troops are doing to adapt to the enemy. Hat tip to Small Wars Journal.

The original title of the Strategy Page aritle that this material came from referred to troops reaction to the generals critical of Rumsfeld. While I have commented extenively on that in the past there are more post today discussing the generals. This post puts into historical perspective the arguments between some of the chiefs and Rumsfeld. There is also this.