Need your Input on BCKS

[MJOCONN1]

I'm working with the team that helped to develop BCKS. I need honest opinions of BCKS; it's usefulness to the guys on the tip of the spear, where it's strong, where it's weak, what it offers, what it lacks. I work with some great guys, former soldiers, and they are supremely dedicated to making BCKS a tool that wins battles and saves lives. Tell me what you think in your gut about BCKS. If possible, can you draw on some of your contacts for opinions? Success stories, without compromising security of course, are what the team is looking for. All I can say is that the need for input from you and your brothers is important. Can you help me out?

[nichols]

I feel stupid for asking but what is BCKS?

[Stan]

Evening Nichols !

Battle Command Knowledge System (US Army). Although somewhat outdated, it relates to IT, Computers, Military and Government.

There were folks at Aberdeen working this issue, but I don't recall what became of it.

I went to Africa to work with Tom

BTW, Jed is already posting more recent info at COIN Seminar. Forgive me, I'm a tad outdated !

[MJOCONN1]

I feel stupid for asking but what is BCKS?

Hey Guys. It's been up and running for a while now. If you have an AKO account you can access it with your AKO login and password.

To quote SSG Rock,

"From my position at the CAC & Fort Leavenworth DCSRM the official correspondence I have seen regarding BCKS is that it ultimately will be "the" knowledge transfer point for the Army. It has ranked high on the priority list for funding along with the CALL expansion. BCKS received supplemental funding in FY 04-05 from GWOT and in formulating the 08/13 POM, BCKS is earmarked critical for funding. I think the idea is to boil many lessons learned websites into pretty much a one stop shopping site (that is my guess). Remains to be seen how the battle goes. Of all the Army Lessons Learned sites I've been to, BCKS is the best for ease of use. CALL has great information but it is hard to use."

[nichols]

Thanks Stan,

Now I have reached Nirvana.

It sounds very much like MCCL at Quantico, we're about to slam our Simulations in there (as soon as we get rid of some of these spinning plates).

About WAWA.........I hated/loved/hated/hated the time spent there. West Africa Wins Again helped explain alot of things.

Gendarme: Chef....20 men from Zaire came across the Oubangui River, stole all of the Africaid woman's belongings and took them back to Zaire......

Me: Aren't you going to go up to her house and investigate?

Gendarme: Chef...we want to, can you give us money for petrol so that we can investigate...

Me: Roger that...WAWA.

Gendarme: Oui Chef...


I do kind of miss the place.

[jcustis]

BCKS has a place, as do many other resources, but I think it is still a tad bit too constrained.

Seems like the same folks (and predominantly contractors or GS types) working inside the forums, and not much relevant commentary from boots on the ground types.

As a case in point, I posted a query in the COIN forum on a very simple Afghan Village Search TTP smartcard, at least 10 months ago IIRC. No replies thus far. The SWC smokes BCKS in a lot of areas. Now for a caveat, I haven't been there in a while, so this view may be dated.

[Jedburgh]

JC - you are absolutely right in that there is hardly any meaningful presence on BCKS of the real target audience - soldiers. It has improved a little bit over the past year, but it has a long way to go before it lives up to its potential.

For real collaborative discussion, SWC is head and shoulders beyond BCKS. However, OPSEC puts a slightly tighter restraint on many topics on SWC, where you can speak a bit more freely on BCKS - although it is still only up to FOUO.

In my personal opinion, the greatest added value of BCKS currently is the ability for any soldier to access a wide spectrum of FOUO material that he would not otherwise have ready access to. Much similar material is uploaded on the AKO KCs, but BCKS makes it easier to find and link specific subject-matter material. The IED-Defeat forum is especially valuable in this respect.

The lack of participation on BCKS is rooted in two issues - first, and the biggest problem, the word just isn't put out. NCOs and officers do not actively encourage their soldiers to use this resource, and the leadership education system also doesn't do enough to inform. Hell, doing my sentence at TRADOC the last year before I retired, only one other NCO in the company was even aware of the resources available through the AKO KCs, BCKS and CALL.

The second issue is simply that many don't give a damn. We have a lot of minimal achievers in "leadership" positions who do just what they're supposed to, and when the work is done, that's it. Initiative extends only to getting the job done faster, so that the break comes earlier. If you've ever looked at the AKO forums, you'll that it is mostly juvenile banter, cherry soldiers asking questions about job and assignments, and discussions having nothing at all to do with the military - the focused, pointed discussions on professional military subjects are few and far between.