FORT MONROE, Va. (TRADOC News Service, July 7, 2009) Web-based collaboration tools, generally known as social media, are changing the way people stay connected. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command is working to leverage social media in training Army leaders to be more adaptive and agile in their conduct of operations, and to broaden discussion across the Army and with the public.
"I'm excited that we are getting our story out to the American people," said TRADOC Command Sgt. Maj. David Bruner. "There are folks who are intimidated coming into the dot.mil domain. Millions of Americans are comfortable in Facebook and Flickr. The best way to tell the story of the great Soldiers and civilians who serve every day in TRADOC is to get the story where the people can see it. This also gives our stakeholders a chance to let us know when they see ways to improve the way we do business."
Commanders already hold two-way conversations with the public through community relations venues such as holding installation open houses, giving speeches and hosting unit tours. They will still issue press releases to inform the public of what is happening throughout the Army and they will continue to release traditional print and video stories to speak directly to Soldiers and the American people. But now, social media allows them to expand that two-way dialogue between the Army, its Soldiers, their family members, its civilian workforce and the public, and provides a number of new avenues for sharing the Army story with a far wider audience.
Army leaders are beginning to routinely tell that story through online tools such as official and personal blogs, as well as, Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo and Flickr. On Twitter, for example, the Army and TRADOC accumulated combined 2,530 followers just since January. Also on a daily basis, Soldiers, family members, and Army civilians use these same tools to keep each other informed about personal details, as well as larger issues impacting the entire Army community. Social media not only provides people with more information, but also provides them the ability to influence decisions that can affect them and their community. In short, many already routinely use social media to expand and enrich the Army community experience and TRADOC is encouraging these connections.
Recently, TRADOC formally entered the social media world with blogging on the TRADOCLive blog page at www.tradoclive.dodlive.mil.
TRADOC leaders have posted blog entries to reach out to those interested in the future of the Army. As more people post their thoughts, this official blog will continue to grow. Other official posts about different topics are planned.
The TRADOC commander and other senior Army leaders have encouraged all Army leaders to share what they can about what they are doing with the American public. The goal is to empower Soldiers, Army civilians, Army family members and the general public with greater understanding and to provide a format for sincere, transparent, two-way discussion. Social media will play a key role in that communication effort. The desire is to make people aware of the many interesting and important TRADOC initiatives. They need to know that doctrine is moving from paper field manuals to wikis that can be accessed from anywhere that has access to the Internet, so doctrine can be more quickly updated with lessons learned in the operational theaters, and can be more widely disseminated. They need to know that developing adaptive and agile leaders is a top priority for the Army. TRADOC's priority is to demonstrate to Americans in every way possible that they are getting the best-trained, best-equipped and most highly skilled Soldiers; and, social media is supercharging this goal.
Of the many ways TRADOC interacts through the social media world: the TRADOC Flickr page shares images of what is happening at the TRADOC schools and centers at http://www.flickr.com/photos/37859509@N02/
the command keeps the public abreast of news headlines throughout the command on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tradoc
TRADOC News Service video interviews with senior leaders and video news stories appear on Vimeo at www.vimeo.com/tradoc
the new TRADOC Facebook page is at http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/#/pages/US-Army-Training-and-Doctrine-Command/93591141124
As a command, TRADOC will continue to engage Soldiers across the Army, their family members, Army civilians, and the public at large through a variety of social media platforms to tell the TRADOC story.
To find links to all the TRADOC social media ventures, go to www.tradoc.army.mil
Social Sharing