FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — In April 2019, then Knowledge Management Qualification Course Chief Martin Fries noted the graduation of the course’s 1,000th student by saying, “We can't wait to get started on the next 1,000."
On Nov. 22, 2024, just a little more than five years later, the KMQC instructors and staff celebrated that milestone during the graduation of its 91st class. While one of the class’s 24 students is the 2,000th graduate, exactly who that is may never be known. Instead, the team decided to recognize each student with a poker chip commemorating this graduation and its significance to the KM community.
“This is a proud day for the Combined Arms Center, Mission Command Center of Excellence and the Army Knowledge Management Proponent Office,” Fries said. “We now have 2,000 individuals, both military and civilian, from all services and components, including multinational personnel from New Zealand, Canada, Korea and Germany, that have returned to their units and facilitated organizational improvement through enhanced shared understanding, learning and decision making in support of mission command.”
The Army Knowledge Management Proponent oversees the design, development, coordination and execution of the resident KMQC across all cohorts and awards completion with Army Additional Skill Identifier 1E (KM Professional). The AKMP conducted its first KMQC in 2011 and it took almost eight years to reach a throughput of 1,000 graduates. Achieving the 2,000th graduate mark so quickly was largely due to the high demand for the course, resulting in the last 41 classes being at maximum capacity, said Fries.
Lt. Col. Jon Stafford, lead instructor for the KMQC, described what students learn during the three-weeks they spend at Fort Leavenworth. “We teach these individuals how to establish and then maintain a knowledge management program at their organizations. We also teach them how to train the individuals that will comprise their knowledge management working group, and then [train on] the different processes we use to make sure an organization is working as efficiently as it can with the four key components of people, process, tools and organization,” he said.
The course focuses on teaching students to use the KM process to assess, design, develop, pilot and implement solutions to fix knowledge and performance gaps within their own units. Student products can then immediately be used at home station to jump start KM programs. Course surveys and testimonials routinely praise the course for giving graduates the tools to succeed.
During his remarks, guest speaker Howard K. (Howie) Brewington, deputy director, MCCoE, challenged the Army’s newest KM professionals “to make their way to the hood of the HMMWV,” referring to the place a commander gives guidance to key staff during tactical operations. “So now you’re armed with a set of skills that as you demonstrate value to your organization, ... As a knowledge manager, you will find your way to the hood of the HMMWV,” he said. “Our Army is moving toward data centricity and a key aspect of that is knowledge management.”
Visit here to learn more about the KMQC.
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