Standardized Competition and Players in Business Simulation

Information as Power: An Anthology of Selected United States Army War College Student Papers. Volume 3

“…Unfortunately, effective in 1999, the USIA was abolished, with most of its functions absorbed by the DoS. 37 This move was part of the general downsizing of America's national security apparatus in the wake of the end of the Cold War. It also followed up on some of the key recommendations of the 1975 "Stanton Commission" which recommended abolishing the USIA and replacing it with a new quasi-independent Information and Cultural Affairs Agency which would combine the cultural and educational programs of the USIA and DoS, the establishment of a new Office of Policy Information within DoS to administer all programs that explain U.S. foreign policy, and the setting up of Voice of America as an independent federal agency under its own board of governors.…”

“…Don Snyder and Gail Watkins, in their article, The Future of Army Professionalism: A Need For Renewal and Redefinition, posit that "recruiting shortfalls, a widening difference in values in perspectives between Americans serving in our Armed Forces, including the Army, and the society they serve, and repeated and well-publicized ethical violations by Army leaders" are issues that indicate a gap between the Army and the public they serve. 37 On one hand, statistics show Americans have faith and confidence in those sworn to protect and defend our nation. On the other hand, this trust does not translate to a significant increase in America's sons and daughters joining the Army, increased military funding or a lack of skepticism and cynicism about the quality and morality of U.S. soldiers in response to scandals and negative media accounts.…”

“…While DoD continues to program and field improvements for terrestrial and space communications capabilities, limitations persist and requirements keep accumulating. 37 The essential question is: Can the network meet these future expectations? In the extreme case, no network equates to no NCW.…”

“…The situation was further complicated by limited bandwidth to the Brigade Combat Teams located in Forward Operating Bases (FOB's) as well as inadequate knowledge of operating enterprise Information Technology (IT) services to include Microsoft AD. 37 As a result, the AD architecture created a "disjointed" information sharing environment causing commanders to stovepipe information impacting the ability to synchronize efforts to achieve the desired effects. A unified AD structure would have lead to better synchronization while enabling net-centricity and easing system administration thus allowing for access to information and collaboration while increasing mobility for the warfighter.…”

“…Mr. Baum advocates, "understand where the data originates," "understand the law," and "find common needs." 37 Option II promotes information sharing effects through policy change, formalizing the sharing responsibility of data producers at key operational points and does not require adoption of new technology. Information sharing responsibilities with compliance monitoring overcomes individual information control biases.…”