Military Review English Edition January-February 2014 | Page 12

Department of Defense’s milSuite.

home station, competition for limited resources
will continue to rise. Leaders must overcome and
maximize dwindling resources to maintain readiness. Organizations can increase their competitive edges by tapping into knowledge inventory,
creating ways to increase access to knowledge
stores, and promoting and rewarding knowledge
sharing. 46 Continuously sharing information,
lessons learned, institutional knowledge, and
expertise is more important than ever, and social
media can enhance these practices. For example,
Xerox developed a collaborative social media
site in 2010 that allowed repair technicians to
share insights and observations with each other.47
This collaborative portal, named Eureka, resulted
in a 5-10 percent parts and labor cost reduction,
which translated to an annual cost savings of $30
million.48
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Training and Collaboration
There are tools available leaders can utilize to
enhance training and collaboration. For example,
viewing videos can be educational and instructive
for various tasks. The Iron Major Crossfit website
out of Fort Leavenworth posts daily workouts with
YouTube links so members can watch how to do
exercises properly, or define a DU, HSPU, T2B, or
KB. Similarly, milTube is a secure, Department of
Defense (DOD) version of YouTube, where users
post military-related videos intended for training
personnel in various skills. The DOD’s milSuite
website is a collection of online tools such as milTube, milBook, milWire, milWiki, and Eureka.49
Many of these sites are similar to commercial
counterparts, but most are secure and full of communities of professionals waiting to share, connect,
and receive information.
January-February 2014 MILITARY REVIEW