 |
| A group of Korean folk dancers make a colorful display during their performance at Osan Air Base's Air Power Day. Events like this one profile the cultural heritage warfighters learn about in a capability developed by the Joint Knowledge Development and Distribution Capability for U.S. Forces Korea. (U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt John Ross) |
Joint Knowledge Online extends cultural awareness training for U.S. Forces Korea
The Joint Knowledge Development and Distribution Capability (JKDDC) Joint Management Office has used Joint Knowledge Online’s distance learning capability to ensure U.S. Forces Korea’s ability to train incoming personnel on important issues like cultural awareness.
• Listen
to the podcast
By Army Spc. Andrew Orillion
USJFCOM Public Affairs
(NORFOLK, Va. – Feb. 13, 2007) –- Imagine a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine knowing what they need to know about a new assignment to Korea before they leave for Asia.
The Joint Knowledge Development and Distribution Capability (JKDDC) has expanded the Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) capability to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) by providing cultural awareness and other training for all personnel entering the country, a USFK requirement.
Mike Barnum, JKDDC's knowledge management division chief, said USFK first approached JKDDC about revising the training and hosting it on JKO in early May 2007.
"Prior to that they [USFK] had a distance learning course but they weren't satisfied with how it was being accessed and tracked. They chose to come to us, Joint Knowledge Online," said Barnum. "They liked our capability, our platform; they liked our ability to track their students."
The USFK Theatre Specific Required Training Course on JKO officially launched May 31, 2007. JKDDC developers and USJFK personnel revised the courseware reducing the time from 16 hours to three hours per guidance from Army Gen. Burwell B. Bell, USFK commander.
Barnum estimates that 12,000 temporary duty personnel and 10,000 permanent change of station personnel will complete the training on the JKO site per year.
The training can be accessed on both unclassified and classified systems and is even available at a cyber-café at the airport in South Korea for those who don't have an opportunity to take the training prior to arrival.
"It was a big plus to the USFK leadership to have their training accessible on all three JKO portals," said Barnum.
The training can also be delivered in an offline form if need be. In January, Carrier Strike Group 11 was on its way to the Korean theater to support exercise Foal Eagle and required the training for its personnel. They requested help from JKO.
"They could not get the training online prior to the deployment and they were concerned about bandwidth and accessibility from the ships," said Barnum. "Within a day we developed CDs to support the carrier strike group and sent them to the ship."
To date 8,000 personnel have completed the USFK Theatre Specific Required Training Course on JKO. Barnum said the success of this course has prompted other combatant commands, including Pacific Command and Africa Command to look into similar types of online training.
"Feedback has been very positive," said Barnum. "It's been an outstanding partnership with USFK and Joint Knowledge Online."
Army Lt. Col. Richard D. Sanders Jr., chief of USFK's combined forces command training and transformation branch, agreed with Barnum.
"Having the training on JKO allows personnel to complete the training anywhere in the world at any time and provides a report for tracking personnel that have completed the training," said Sanders. "USFK is evaluating other training requirements for implementation on the JKO site and highly recommends other commands take advantage of this excellent capability to meet recurring individual and group training requirements."
|
